Love, Daisies, and Troubadours
by EvenAngelsFall22
Summary: Take the Journey all over again, from the beginning.
1. Chapter One

**_Disclaimer: _**I don't own General Hospital or its characters.

**_Author's Note: _**Well, I've wanted to do a whole re-working of Courtney and Jason's relationship, done just a _little _bit differently than GH did. This story is going to be a continuation of my other story, _Holy Water_, so while I'm not linking it directly to it, consider _Holy Water _to be the prologue of this story. It might be helpful to read that first, but I'll probably do a little bit of recapping of it in this chapter.

Just a quick warning, this starts out really slow, and I apologize for that, but I wanted to set things up a little and introduce Carly into the story. But don't worry, the plot definitely picks up in the next chapter, so please bear with me!

I also have to give credit to the television show _Gilmore Girls_, because I totally stole the name of this story from the title of one of their episodes; the season finale of season 1 to be exact.

Anyway, if you have the time, let me know what you think!

* * *

**Love, Daisies, and Troubadours - Chapter 1**

"I love rainstorms," Courtney announced as Jason opened the penthouse door for her. She spun around and grinned at Jason who was peeling his wet jacket off. She opened her mouth to say something else but was momentarily caught off-guard as she saw that Jason's pale blue t-shirt was stuck to his body, proving to her that he definitely worked out more than he would admit.

"Courtney?" His voice broke her out of her thoughts and her head snapped up as she tried to stop herself from blushing.

"I'm sorry, what?"

"I asked you if you were going to stand there all day dripping water all over or if you were going to change into something dry," Jason said as he took her coat from her and draped it over the back of a chair.

"Oh." She wrapped her arms around her midsection as she realized she was getting pretty cold. "Actually, I think I'm going to take a shower first and then change my clothes," she decided. She grinned at him as she shook her head. Droplets of water fell from her hair and landed on Jason, who half-smiled and brushed them off.

"Alright, you go ahead and do that," he said. "I'm going to go change. Both of us are going to end up sick soon if we don't get out of these wet clothes."

"Then I'll be quick about it," she said, flashing a grin at him. She waltzed into the bathroom and was pretty sure she could hear him laughing at her.

Stepping under the hot spray of water, Courtney closed her eyes and let the warmth overtake her. As she felt her body grow warm again her thoughts drifted to what had happened just a few moments before.

They had kissed. Jason had kissed her. Or maybe she had kissed him; her thoughts were still too jumbled for her to process how things happened exactly. Not that it really mattered, she realized, the important thing was that they had kissed. And they had kissed in the rain and what was more romantic than that?

But now what, she asked herself as she lifted the hair off of her shoulders so the water could hit her back. They had kissed, and he said he didn't want her to leave, but what did that mean exactly? He didn't want her to leave that day, or for good? Surely he didn't mean for her to move into the penthouse, did he?

And if so, was she ready for that? Was he?

Jason emerged from his bedroom in dry clothes and patted Rosie absentmindedly on the head. From the sounds of it, Courtney was still in the shower so he went into the kitchen and busied himself making coffee and checking the fridge to see if there was anything they could have for dinner. He did anything he could to keep from thinking about the image of Courtney in his shower. It had been hard enough not to stare when he realized that the rain had made her clothes all but transparent.

As he took a drink of the coffee he thought about what had just taken place. He hadn't planned on doing it that way, he hadn't even thought about it but all of a sudden she had said goodbye and was leaving and he had realized that he couldn't let her go. Before he knew it, he was out the door and chasing down the street.

He had admitted that he wanted her, he let her see that he cared, and that was a little more emotion shown than Jason Morgan was comfortable with. To say he was unsure of what to do next was to say the least. She was just barely out of a horrible relationship and to jump into a new one was something he wasn't sure she was ready for yet.

Before he could overanalyze things further, Courtney appeared in the kitchen doorway, smiling brightly.

"We're definitely need to do that more often," she said decidedly, as she accepted the cup of coffee he handed her. Her smile faded a little as she saw him roll his eyes. "What, you didn't like playing in the rain?" she asked teasingly.

"I don't play," he said dryly, amused at how hyper she was. A far cry from the girl he had brought here just a week ago.

"And you need to work on that," she said, reaching over to kiss him. It was only a quick kiss but she drew back immediately, flustered and stammering. "I'm sorry—I didn't—should I have done that?" She felt her face redden again and bit her lip nervously.

Jason offered her a smile and took the coffee mug from her hand and set it on the table. "I think it was okay," he said before leaning down to kiss her himself.

A few minutes later the shrill ringing of Jason's phone interrupted them. "One moment," he said, reaching into his back pocket. After a brief conversation he sighed and looked at Courtney.

"Sonny?" she asked, knowing it had been her brother on the phone.

He nodded. "I need to go for awhile, there's a new shipment coming in and someone needs to be at the docks."

"Okay," She kissed him once more. "I'll be okay, I can keep myself occupied," she added when she saw the look of doubt on his face. "If anything, I can go across the hall and play with the boys," she reminded him.

"I shouldn't be too long," he said, as they left the kitchen. "A couple of hours at the most," he promised.

"I'll be here when you get back," she said with another smile. "Bye." She closed the door behind him and sat down at the couch, calling for Rosie.

A couple of hours turned into eight and by the time Jason arrived back home Courtney was curled up on the couch, asleep with the television flickering quietly in the dimly lit room. He turned the set off and glanced back at her sleeping form, debating on whether or not to move her.

He rationalized that sleeping on the couch wouldn't be too comfortable so he carefully lifted her up off of the couch. She stirred slightly, but her eyes never opened. He carried her into the bedroom she had been using as hers for the last week and settled her in the bed, pulling the covers over her. He shook his head as the golden retriever barreled into the room and settled at Courtney's feet.

With one last look to make sure everything was in order, Jason stepped out of the room. As he was closing the door he heard her rustling around and paused.

"Good-night Jason," she murmured sleepily, never fully waking up.

"Good night," he returned before closing the door and heading into his own room.

* * *

Courtney woke up to the sounds of a crash and Jason swearing. Smiling to herself she sat up, confused for a moment wondering how she had gotten into bed. Glancing at the clock she saw she had overslept and only had about 45 minutes until she had to be to work. 

She was about to open the bedroom door and step into the hallway when she caught sight of herself in the mirror. Hair tangled and sticking up in places, make-up smudges under her eyes, and she was still in her clothes from the day before. There was no way she could let Jason see her like this.

As she struggled to get a hairbrush through her hair she couldn't help but laugh at herself. Jason had seen her way worse than this in the last few months, and she doubt he would even notice. And even if he did notice, he definitely wasn't the type to say anything.

However, none of this stopped Courtney from carefully selecting an outfit for the day or taking extra time in applying her make up.

On her way downstairs to the kitchen she couldn't believe that she was actually nervous about seeing Jason today. What if he regretted what happened yesterday? What if he had wished he had let her go when she tried to leave?

What if he looked absolutely adorable as he crouched on the floor trying to pick up the remains of a shattered plate and a now broken toaster?

She leaned against the doorway and smiled at the sight before her. "Problems?" she asked softly, as not to startle him.

He turned around and stood up. "Rosie tried to snag a piece of toast off of the counter when I wasn't looking," he said, cocking his head towards the dog, which was in the corner happily munching away at her breakfast.

Courtney tried not to laugh. "I'm sorry, we'll get you a new toaster," she said.

Jason dismissed it with a wave of his hand. "I'm sorry I was so late last night," he said. "Things didn't go as smoothly as I thought they would."

"Its okay," she said, pouring a glass of juice. "I fell asleep kind of early anyways."

"I noticed." He grinned at her. "How did you sleep?"

"Good," she said honestly. "Thanks for moving me off of the couch," she said lowering her eyes slightly.

"You're welcome," Jason said. He threw the last of the glass shards into the trash and wiped his hands on a dishtowel. "You uh- you look nice this morning," he said, edging closer.

"Thanks," she whispered, as they each moved closer, their lips almost touching. This wasn't going to be so awkward after all she realized. They were millimeters away from kissing. All she had to do was purse her lips and they would be.

"Jason!" Carly's unmistakable voice called from within the living room, breaking the moment. "Where are you?"

Courtney stepped back quickly and took a deep breath. Jason sighed exasperatedly and ran his hand through his hair.

"I'll be right out Carly!" he called. He shot an apologetic look towards Courtney before leaving the kitchen.

Courtney leaned against the counter and took a deep breath. She could feel her face flushing red again and for the umpteenth time in two days she cursed her fair skin. Once she was composed she headed towards the living room herself.

"Morning Carly," she said with a smile.

"Oh, good morning Courtney, I didn't realize you were still here, I thought you were leaving yesterday," Carly said, tilting her head to one side.

"You must have your days mixed up," Jason said. "Courtney's new place isn't ready for her to move in yet," he lied.

"Hmm." Carly looked back and forth between her best friend and her sister-in-law for a moment before settling her gaze on Courtney. "So what are your plans for the day Court?" she asked brightly.

"Oh, not much really. I actually have to get going soon, I've got to be at the diner in time for the breakfast rush," she said, slipping her shoes on.

"How long do you have to work?" Jason asked. He was still at the desk looking for the stack of papers Sonny had sent Carly over for.

"Probably until two or so," she said, hoping Carly didn't pick up on the little bit of tension that hung between her and Jason. "But I thought that when I came home, I would take Rosie to the park for awhile. She's been cooped up inside for a while now, she probably needs to run around for an hour or so," she added.

"If you want, I could bring Rosie to you at Kelly's around two-fifteen," Jason offered, stealing a glance at Courtney.

"That'd be great, thanks," Courtney said, trying to suppress a smile and hoping she didn't sound overly happy, neither of which, like the look Jason gave her, went unnoticed by Carly, who was watching the dialogue with an amused expression.

"Alright, well I should get going," Courtney said as she picked up her purse off of the desk.

"You know, I think I'll walk with you if you don't mind," Carly said. "I have to run a few errands that way anyways."

"Sure," Courtney agreed. "I'll see you later," she said to Jason.

"Bye," he said, looking up at her quickly and offering her a smile.

"Wow, okay," Carly said once they were in the elevator. "What was that all about?"

"What was what?" Courtney asked.

"You and Jason were acting really weird in there. I saw the look he gave you."

"What look?"

"That 'if Carly wasn't here I'd push you against the wall and kiss you' look," Carly said matter-of-factly.

Courtney rolled her eyes. "He did not look at me that way," she protested.

"No? Well you definitely didn't look like you'd mind if that's how he was looking at you," Carly pointed out.

"He didn't look at me that way!" she repeated.

"What's going on Courtney? Come on, tell me," Carly pleaded as they headed out into the bright sunshine. "I'm dying for some good old-fashioned girl talk. In case you hadn't noticed, there's not a lot of women here I could be friends with, so you're stuck with me, and I demand you tell me what's going on with you and Jason!"

Courtney sighed. She didn't know Carly all that well yet, but she knew telling her anything about her and Jason would be the same as telling the Port Charles Gazette. "I don't know what you're talking about," she said, cringing, as she knew she didn't sound very convincing.

Now it was Carly's turn to roll her eyes. "Are you seriously going to tell me you don't have a crush on Jason?" she asked.

"A crush? Are we in the sixth grade?"

"Fine, you have feelings for him, right? I mean, I don't blame you if you do, Jason's a great guy and personally I'd be thrilled to death if you two got together."

"Jason is a great guy, you're right," Courtney agreed.

"I know, and you two would be perfect for each other," Carly insisted.

"You think so?" Courtney asked.

Carly nodded. "Sonny might not see it the same way though," she said.

Courtney hadn't thought of that before. Of course her brother would not agree with his wife on this topic. On the other hand, it wasn't like Sonny was the boss of her, he couldn't really tell her whom she could and couldn't date, could he? And Jason was the one person he trusted most in the world, would he really have a problem with her seeing him?

"Hey, hello!" Carly snapped her fingers in front of Courtney's eyes. "You didn't hear a word I just said, did you?"

Courtney shook her head and laughed sheepishly. "Sorry," she said.

"Wow, you really have it bad for Jase, don't you?" Carly asked with a shake of her head.

Knowing it was useless to lie, Courtney only shrugged her shoulders and smiled as Carly squealed excitedly and clapped her hands together.

"Oh, we have so much to talk about," Carly said, as they walked through the front door of Kelly's. She sat down at the counter as Courtney threw an apron on over her clothes and picked up a pot of coffee.

"I've got to work Carly," she pointed out.

"That's okay, you won't be busy the whole time," she replied with a flip of her hair. "So tell me, have you guys kissed yet?"

Courtney sighed. It was going to be a long day.


	2. Chapter Two

**_Disclaimer:_** I don't own General Hospital or its characters.

**_Summary: _**Take the Journey from the beginning.

**_Author's Note: _**Another slow-paced chapter, I'm sorry! I needed to use this chapter to set up a few more relationships, ideally the one between Courtney and Carly, as well as (slowly) progress Jason and Courtney, and to introduce the conflicts with Sonny, and most likely Elizabeth, though I'm not sure how far into that one I'll go. Someone asked me what exactly the plot of this is, so just to clarify, I plan on rewriting most of Journey's storyline, keeping some of it the same, but I don't know how much I'll include yet… it's definitely going to be longer story though, and I promise that the pace picks up in the next chapter…. If I don't come through, I'll give up my Sex and the City and Gilmore Girls DVDs.

* * *

**Love, Daisies, and Troubadours – Chapter 2**

The breakfast rush had been crazy and they had been one waitress short, so by the time ten-fifteen rolled around, Courtney was more than ready to sit down, which she did as soon as she could. "More coffee Carly?" she asked tiredly, as she poured her own. She sat down across from the brunette who just shook her head.

"I am all coffee-ed out," Carly declared with a smile.

"You should be," Courtney agreed. "You've been sitting here drinking it for two and half hours."

"I'd have been out of here a long time ago, all you had to do was tell me everything that's going on between you and Jason," Carly said. "Seriously, you need to learn how to gossip."

"Maybe there's nothing to gossip about," Courtney pointed out as she shrugged her shoulders. "Maybe you misinterpreted what you saw this morning and have spent the last two hours bothering me for absolutely nothing."

"Maybe," Carly repeated. "But probably not. And please, I'm not bothering you." She leaned forward. "If you just admit to me that you've at least kissed him, I'll go away happy for now," she whispered.

Courtney sighed. As much as this sounded like a conversation she would have had in junior high, she had to admit that she was dying to talk to someone about this whole thing. And Carly, as both Jason's best friend and Sonny's wife, would be the best person to talk to. Maybe she could even offer a little insight into Jason.

"Yesterday," she confided quietly, unable to keep the smile from her face. "I was getting ready to leave to go over to my new place and he stopped me outside and told me he couldn't let me leave and we kissed."

Carly squealed. "I knew it!" she said excitedly. "How long has this been going on?"

Courtney shook her head. "Not long, I swear. I don't know, I guess we just really connected these last few months," she said. "But Carly, you can't say anything, I'm barely divorced from AJ and we both know Sonny probably won't be happy, and honestly, I don't know what Jason is even thinking right now."

Carly waived her hand dismissively. "We have time to worry about that later, right now I want to hear about the kiss."

Courtney giggled. "It was incredible," she confessed. "We were in the rain, and it was just so perfect." She smiled at the memory then shook her head. "But it's too soon, isn't it?" she asked. "I mean, I've been divorced for what, six days? I shouldn't be kissing anyone right now, let alone my ex-husband's brother."

"Aw, honey." Carly smiled at her. "Something tells me you didn't just wake up with these feelings for Jason yesterday, that they've been there for awhile?" She waited until Courtney nodded before speaking again. "And no one's going to think any less of you for having these feelings, especially since everyone knows what an ass AJ is." Courtney half-smiled at her. "Most importantly though, AJ and Jason haven't been brothers for a long time now, not in Jason's eyes, and probably not in AJ's either. Take if from someone who's been involve with both guys, Jason is definitely the better man, but I don't think I need to tell you that."

"You're right." Courtney took a deep breath. "What about Sonny though?"

Carly smiled sympathetically. "I'm not sure how this is going to go over with him. He's still getting used to being a big brother, and he's an overbearing jerk most of the time anyways."

Courtney laughed. "Maybe Jason and I should wait before saying anything to Sonny about this."

"Good idea," Carly approved. Her smile faded as she watched someone walk into the diner. "You might not want to say anything to her either," she said, gesturing towards the petite girl.

"Elizabeth?" Courtney looked at her questioningly. "She and Jason are friends, right?"

Carly scoffed. "They sort of dated for awhile, well according to Elizabeth. Jason says they're just friends. Either way, she's obviously in love with him."

"Great," Courtney sighed. "My break's over, I should get back to work. And you," she rolled her eyes at Carly. "You should go walk off some of that caffeine buzz you've got."

"Maybe I should go see if my husband's home," Carly said with a wink. Courtney made a face at her and waved as she left. She offered a smile to Elizabeth who was clocking in and finished clearing off the table.

Time passed by quickly and before she knew it, it was time to clock out for the day. She was finishing up with her last customer when the tinkling of a bell signaled that someone else had entered the diner. She smiled to herself, hoping that it was Jason.

Turning around, her smile widened. "Hey," she greeted him. "I'm just about done, do you want me to get you anything?" He shook his head. "Okay, just give me two minutes to finish up and we can go. Where's Rosie?"

"Outside with Marco."

"Marco must be pleased." She smiled again. "Okay, two minutes." She disappeared into the kitchen.

When she came back out to the dining area she found Elizabeth talking to Jason and one look at the girl proved that Carly was right. Anyone who could see the look on Elizabeth's face could see she was plainly head over heels in love with the guy. Courtney only hoped she wasn't as obvious about her feelings as Elizabeth was. Not that her feelings were of love or anything close to that. Not yet.

"All set," she said brightly, walking over to the table. She was surprised to feel a surge of happiness course through her as Jason shot her a grateful smile and stood up. "I'll see you tomorrow Elizabeth, have a good afternoon." She smiled at the other girl as she and Jason left Kelly's.

"So do you mind a tagalong to the park?" Jason asked as Courtney took Rosie's leash from Marco.

"Not at all," she said. "I didn't realize Marco was so fond of the park."

"Right." Jason shook his head and took the leash from her hands as they headed towards the center of the park. "So how was work?"

"Busy actually," Courtney answered. "Although, Carly stayed for nearly two hours badgering me with questions about us."

"That figures. What did you tell her?"

Courtney thought for a moment. What if she wasn't supposed to say anything to Carly? "Um, I kind of told her about yesterday," she admitted.

"What about yesterday?"

At the tone of his voice Courtney inwardly cringed. Jason was mad at her for talking to Carly, she should have known better. Of course he wouldn't have wanted her to, telling Carly anything was like telling Sonny, only now Sonny would find out from Carly and not her, and that would be one more thing to be mad about. She sighed. "I told her about—well, you see she wouldn't leave me alone and I had to tell her something, and—" she looked up and saw that Jason was grinning at her. That jerk, he was teasing her. She shrugged. "I told her that I tried to leave and you begged me to stay," she said airily.

Jason laughed. "Yeah, that's how I remember it happening too," he remarked.

"Well you know Carly better than I do," Courtney pointed out. "If I didn't tell her something, she wasn't going to leave me alone." As they walked along, Courtney was acutely aware of how many times their hands brushed against each other. Right now the count was up to seven.

"Yeah, Carly can be a little over the top sometimes," Jason agreed.

"That's putting it mildly." Courtney laughed as she thought of all the badgering Carly had done all morning. Eight times. "Rosie seems to be enjoying herself," she said, watching the dog run ahead of them, chasing birds. Nine. This was getting ridiculous.

"You were right, she was getting stir-crazy." Jason smiled to himself as he felt her hand against his once again. He wasn't the type of guy that normally held hands well, ever, but he found himself debating the pros and cons of holding this one in particular.

Things were awkward between the two of them today, and he supposed he should have expected that but he was still surprised. Maybe it was his fault though, maybe he shouldn't have made such a grand statement as he had yesterday when he asked her to stay, and he knew he shouldn't have left her so soon after to go work, but that had been out of his hands. They hadn't even been able talk about what they had said.

It didn't help things either that he felt that he should have kissed her already today, but thanks to Carly, that hadn't happened either. And the fact that he hadn't thought of much else the entire morning told him that things were definitely more than casual between them. On his part in any case.

"Do you have to work tonight?" Courtney asked. Ten times. She prayed that her question didn't sound too desperate.

"Yeah I do," Jason said his voice tinged with what Courtney hoped was regret. "I was thinking though, maybe you could stay one more night at my place, and we could get you settled into your new place tomorrow?"

Courtney laughed as she shook her head. "I should probably stay there tonight," she said. "I can't keep staying at your place, you've got to be getting tired of me anyways."

"No, stay one more night," Jason insisted. "I won't be too late tonight, and I'd be more comfortable knowing you were there."

She smiled. "You don't have to protect me anymore," she pointed out, though clearly enjoying the thought.

"Tonight," Jason said firmly. "And tomorrow you can move into the loft."

Courtney smiled again. "All right," she agreed. In a moment of sheer courage she reached out and intertwined two of her fingers with his. And was pleased when he tightened the grip.

"Aunt Courtney!"

Courtney dropped Jason's hand and turned to see Michael running towards them. "Hey Michael," she said, grinning at him. "Where's Leticia?"

"I don't know, I'm with Mom," he said, waving at Jason. "But she said maybe I could play with Rosie for a little while because she has something to do." The redheaded boy looked around for the dog.

"Hey guys," Carly said, running up to them a little breathlessly. "Is there anyway you can watch Michael for a little while? I've got to run an errand for work that would bore him to tears and Leticia has the day off." Her eyes roamed over Jason and she grinned. "And I remember you saying you were taking Rosie to the park, but I didn't realize I'd be interrupting a date."

"Of course Michael can hang out with me for a few hours," Courtney said, ignoring Carly's last statement. "You can pick him up at Jason's later this afternoon."

"Great! I owe you!" Carly knelt down to Michael. "Be a good boy for Courtney and Jason and I'll see you later. Love you, bye!"

"I brought some treats for Rosie, can I make her do tricks for them?" Michael asked, holding out his hands and showing off said treats.

"Absolutely, but good luck," Courtney laughed. She watched as Michael threw a stick for Rosie to chase and then himself chased after the dog. She started after them, and was surprised when she felt a hand on her elbow, holding her back.

"Hey," she said softly, looking up at Jason, who still had a gentle grip on her.

"Hey." He grinned slightly before bringing his other hand to her waist to pull her closer. He tilted her chin up and kissed her softly on the lips.

Seconds later, Courtney pulled away reluctantly, not bothering to hide her smile. "Michael's right over there," she said.

"I know." Jason leaned down and kissed her again. "Tonight at my place?"

Courtney smiled and nodded her head. "Tonight," she echoed.

* * *

**_A.N./2: _**Okay, just a couple of things I want to run by you readers, and I'm really anxious to know your opinions. I'm writing this in a little bit different style than I normally write, focusing on more details and emotions I think, or at least I hope that's how it's coming across. Is it too boring? Losing interest fast? Let me know. And also, am I using Carly as a plot point (the interrupting and being nosy) too frequently? I'm trying to make it a focal point of the story, but I don't want it to become too much of a running gag. Comments? Ideas of plot points you want me to cover in this sure-to-be long series? Please let me know! 


	3. Chapter Three

**_Disclaimer:_** I don't own General Hospital, or its characters.

**_Author's Note:_** I just want to say a huge thank you to everyone who has read and/or reviewed so far, I really appreciate it and hopefully you enjoy this chapter as well!

In this chapter, I'm going to do my own version of "the dinner" and at the beginning, I'm using some direct quotes from the show, which I got from the transcripts on Journey Online.

* * *

**Love, Daisies, and Troubadours – Chapter 3 **

"Ouch!" Courtney slammed the oven door shut and danced around the kitchen shaking her burned hand. Realizing that it was useless to shake it, she rushed over to the sink and held it under the icy cold tap. Rosie nudged her head against her shin and Courtney smiled down at the dog.

"It's a good thing I'm only reheating dinner and not making it myself, huh Girl?" she asked, reaching down with her free hand to pet her. She pulled her hand out from the water and inspected it. "Well at least I know just how hot those pans can get," she said, trying to make the best of the situation.

It was later that afternoon, and after Carly had picked Michael up, Courtney had decided to make Jason dinner, her way of saying thank you for everything he had done these last few months. And, she was still trying to figure out exactly what he had meant when he said the word "tonight" in the park. He could have meant he'd just see her tonight, or they'd get to hang out just the two of them tonight, or he meant that they would… even at the thought of it, Courtney felt her cheeks heat up and she decided to stop overanalyzing things for the moment.

She knelt down to her helper and held her head between both hands, kissing her nose. "Why am I so nervous? It's just Jason, it's not like we haven't practically been living together for the last couple of weeks. Of course, it's different now, he's not protecting me from anyone, or guarding me, or even saving me." She sighed and blew the hair off of her face. "Oh god, is he going to think this is a date?"

So much for not overanalyzing.

Luckily she didn't have much time to think because as she righted herself from petting the dog she heard the front door open.

"Courtney? I'm home. Where are you?"

"I'll be right there!" Courtney called, instinctively running her hand through her hair. She smiled brightly as she walked out into the living room. "Hey, you're back earlier than I expected."

"I got Benny to cover the rest of the job for me." He looked around the apartment. "Michael's gone and Carly's not here to interrupt, right?" he asked, grabbing her by the waist and giving her a kiss. He pulled away. "Are you cooking?" he asked, leaning in to kiss her again.

Courtney laughed. "Not so much cooking, as heating up a takeout order from Kelly's," she confessed. "But, I'm not totally helpless in the kitchen, I did bake chocolate chip cookies for dessert." Jason raised an eyebrow at her and she laughed again. "They're really good, I promise."

"We'll see about that." He picked up her hand and looked at it. "Did the stove attack you?"

Courtney grimaced. "Oven actually. It's not as bad as it looks though." She smiled as he brought her hand to his lips and she rolled her eyes. "Much better, thank you."

"You're welcome. Now, sit down, and I'll finish getting dinner ready," he said as he lead her over to the table she had set for the two of them.

"I don't think so," Courtney said, twisting out his grasp and turning to face him. "Why don't you go wash up and I'll get dinner on the table," she suggested. "By the time you get back downstairs everything will be ready and we can eat."

"Sounds good, I'm starving.' Jason kissed her cheek and headed upstairs, leaving Courtney to go back into the kitchen.

She was setting the last dish on the table as Jason came back into the room. "Need any help?" he asked her.

Courtney jumped, not having heard him come back down. As she turned to look at him her hand brushed against the side of one of the hot dishes, forcing another cry to escape from her lips as tears stung her eyes.

"Here let me see," Jason said, grabbing the burnt hand and inspecting it. "Sit down, are you okay?"

"Yeah," Courtney managed to say as he blew on her hand. "Guess I really heated things up, huh?" she asked.

Jason grinned at her and knelt down next to her. "That's okay, we'll get you some gloves for the next time you cook," he said. "Well, the good news is I think you'll live."

Courtney smiled. "I'm fine now," she said. "Just feeling a little foolish, that's all."

"Please." Jason took his seat across from her. "If you want to talk foolish sometime, ask Carly about the time she tried to help Michael build a snowman by pouring water onto the snow. She single-handedly melted the entire thing while Michael and Max stood by and laughed."

Courtney laughed. "I'll have to remember that one. So." She gestured to the food spread out before them. "Should I serve, or will you?"

"I think I can handle it." He waited until he was done before speaking again. "So what's the reason for dinner tonight?" he asked.

Courtney lifted her shoulders in a slight shrug. "It's just my way of saying thank you for everything you've done these last few months," she explained. "I mean, when Sonny told you to watch me, you had no idea what you were getting into."

"It really hasn't been that hard Courtney. And you don't need to thank me." He smiled again. "Besides, I think it's worked out for the best, don't you?"

"Definitely," she agreed, immediately hoping she didn't sound too eager. Though, he was the one to say it first. Oh good, the overanalyzing part of the night was back.

"Dinner was great," Jason said awhile later, pushing his chair back from the table. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," Courtney answered, taking a sip of her water. "Did you save room for dessert?"

"I still don't know about these cookies," Jason replied. "How many times did you burn yourself baking them?"

"None," she said sticking her tongue out at him. "They're really good, I promise!"

"Yeah you've said that already." He stood up. "Why don't you go on over to the couch, and I'll go get the cookies?"

"Deal."

He came back a few minutes later, balancing a plate of cookies and two glasses of wine on a tray. He set it down and sat next to her. "What? Oh, the wine?" He shrugged. "Well, we had water for dinner, but who drinks water while eating cookies? And the beer in the fridge didn't seem like a right choice, and we're out of milk, so I figured this was the best choice."

Courtney laughed. "Sounds good to me," she said. She watched him take a bite of one of the cookies. "Well?" she asked knowingly.

"Best chocolate chip cookie I've ever had," he said, leaning forward to retrieve the two glasses of wine and handing one to her. "So what did you do the rest of the afternoon?" he asked.

She settled back against him, filling him in on the minor details of her day. As she did so, she realized how comfortable she was, it was just like when he would stay the night with her in the apartment she had shared with AJ and they'd stay up all night talking about random things. She had forgotten how much she had missed doing that.

"So really," she concluded. "Once Michael's sugar rush wore off it was a pretty uneventful day." She took a sip of the wine and turned her gaze to him. "What about you? How was work?"

"Same as always," he said.

"I see." She waited for him to elaborate, but he didn't. "What exactly did you have to do tonight?"

"I had to make sure an export of supplies went out on time." Jason toyed with a strand of her blonde hair, hoping it would distract her from the conversation.

"Oh." She twisted slightly to face him better. "Is that all you and Sonny deal with? Coffee?" No such luck on the distraction.

"No, there are other things, but coffee is the main one." He dropped his hand to massage the back of her neck.

"Well what exactly is it that you and Sonny do?" She chewed on her lower lip. "I mean, I know about Sonny's reputation and the whole underground unsavory factor of business, but what exactly is it?"

"Hey," Jason said, using his hand on her neck to draw her closer. "I didn't leave work early so that I could talk about work," he said, using his other hand to lightly tickle her side.

"No?" Courtney still had a million questions that she wanted to ask him but she was slowly forgetting each and every one of them.

"No," he repeated, with a shake of his head. He took the wine glass from her hand and set it back on the table.

Courtney felt her body go warm as his arms went around her again and thought to herself that he was definitely doing a good job of making up for the lack of kisses earlier in the day.

Awhile later, what seemed like hours later to Courtney, they finally broke apart from each other and Jason smiled down at her, brushing the hair from her eyes.

"It's getting late," he said. "We should probably call it a night soon."

A quick glance at the wall clock showed Courtney that indeed, several hours had passed since dinner. "Yeah, we probably should," she agreed, hoping he couldn't feel her heart pounding as hard as it was. And even though he was right, she was pretty comfortable where she was. Then her brain kicked in and she realized the possible meanings of him suggesting that they go to bed.

Jason kissed her again. "Do you work the morning shift?"

"Seven a.m. bright and early," she said.

"Okay, well maybe we can spend the rest of the day getting you into your new place?" he waited for her to nod her agreement before going on. "It's a plan then. I may not be here when you wake up, there's an early shipment coming in." Jason flinched as he realized he brought up work again but he kept going in hopes that she wouldn't start with the questions again. "If I don't see you before you leave, I'll stop in for coffee."

"Sounds good," Courtney murmured, resting her head on his chest. She was still trying to figure out where exactly she was sleeping tonight.

Jason's next words answered that for her. "All right, should I tuck you in or do you think Rosie will get jealous?"

"I'll be fine," she said softly, surprised at how disappointed she was. Sure, it was probably too soon to even think about sleeping with Jason, but for those few moments the thought had entertained her mind she definitely wouldn't have minded.

"You okay?" Jason asked, lifting his head.

"Yeah." She forced a smile onto her face. "I'm just more tired than I thought," she said. She sat up. "Oh! I forgot to clean up the table from dinner," she said when she saw the mess still lying there.

Jason waved his hand at it. "Go on to bed, I'll take care of it."

"No, that's okay," she protested. "I can—"

"I've got it," he repeated, kissing her again.

"You're sure?" Courtney looked at him doubtfully but he nodded. "Okay," she relented. She offered him one last smile. "I'll see you in the morning."

"Good night."

"Night." She got up from the couch and walked upstairs to her room, with Rosie close at her heels.

She smiled as she turned off the lamp next to the bed and Rosie snuggled her way up to her head. "You're right girl," she whispered. "We're falling way faster than we should."


	4. Chapter Four

**_Disclaimer_**: I don't own General Hospital or its characters.

**_Author's Note_**: Thanks for all the feedback I really appreciate it! Again, in this chapter I'm going to use some actual dialogue from the show, and I got the transcripts from Journey Online

A lot of this chapter sets things up for upcoming chapters, so pay attention, lol… even the littlest details will come into play later on. Anyways, let me know what you think!

* * *

**Love, Daisies, and Troubadours – Chapter 4**

Jason was sitting at his desk, looking over some payroll spreadsheets from one of the casinos and trying to figure out who was embezzling money from the company when he heard the unmistakable less-than-dulcet tones of his best friend coming from the hallway. Sure enough, not 5 seconds passed before the door opened and she came into the living room.

"Hey Jase, is Courtney around?"

"No." Jason shook his head and looked up from the desk. "She moved into her new place yesterday, but I think she's at Kelly's until 3 if you want to talk to her."

"That's okay, it wasn't anything important." Carly sat down on the couch. "So what's going on?"

"I'm working," Jason said, looking back down at the papers.

"Casino stuff?"

"Yes." He hoped she knew at least how important his work was, and would leave, but no such luck on his part. Carly was bored and had nothing else to do.

"Yeah, Sonny mentioned that the other day." She stared at Jason until he looked up and over at her.

"Was there something else?" he asked pointedly.

"Yeah, actually. How are things going?" she asked casually.

"Things are fine."

"Just fine?"

"What kind of things are you talking about?"

Carly shrugged. "I don't know. How are things going with Courtney?"

"I'm sure Courtney keeps you filled in.".

"She does for the most part," Carly agreed.

"Right." Jason sighed and set his papers down so he could turn and face Carly completely. "Spit it out Carly, what's going on?"

"Well, you care for Courtney a lot, don't you? I mean, obviously you do, because you're trying to keep this all from Sonny and I mean, I've seen the way you look at her, and yeah, you care about her right?"

"Yeah, I do," Jason admitted. "But why are you asking? Does Courtney think I don't or something?" He wished Carly would just get to the point.

"It's just, well, she told me about the other night when she made you dinner, and then what happened last night when you helped her move into her new place."

"What do you mean, what happened last night?" Jason tried to think of anything that happened the night before and couldn't come up with anything. "I helped her unpack all of her stuff, made sure she was settled, and then I came home."

"Exactly." Carly stared at him for a moment and then sighed. "Look, if you think Courtney's not ready to sleep with you, or anything like that, trust me, she is."

"What?" Jason was taken aback by the turn their talk had taken. "Carly, look—"

"No, it's just that, you know, Courtney really cares about you too," Carly rushed on. "And she might be a little confused by the signals you're sending her, and then I thought, well, maybe you're the one that's confused, so that's why I'm saying, if you think she isn't ready, or doesn't want to sleep with you, well, that's just not the case."

Jason stared at her as she caught her breath. "Does Courtney know you're here?" he asked finally.

"No, absolutely not, she'd be mortified if she knew I was talking to you."

"Then why are you?"

"Because I'm your best friend," Carly said plainly.

"So what are you hoping to accomplish here? Are you trying to let me know that Courtney's ready to move forward, because you know what, I'm the one in the relationship with her; I know that already, I just think it's a little too soon for that. We really haven't even been together a week and I don't want to rush things." Jason's brain was telling him to stop talking about this but he didn't listen, and sure enough, Carly pounced on him.

"No, Jason, I am trying to let you know that, you know, you can love a girl and actually sleep with her. You don't have to prove your devotion to her by not touching her. Actually, if you shut Courtney out, I think that she might get her feelings hurt, and I know you don't want to do that, so I'm trying to give you a little help, a little advice. So, you know, some girls they actually like it if a guy puts out." She leaned back and then saw the look on his face. "What?"

"Are you drunk?"

"Jason!"

"Are you?"

Carly sighed dramatically and stretched out a slender arm and bent it to touch her nose. "See, I can touch my nose, and jeez, it's only eleven in the morning." She saw he was still looking at her suspiciously. "Would you like me to walk a straight line for you? I'm not drunk!"

"What other reason could you possibly have for saying that?" Jason shook his head. "You're really close to crossing a line here, and you don't want to do that."

"Sorry." Carly held her hands up. "Jason, I get what you're saying, and I think its great that you want to make things work with Courtney. Just remember, you might only have been together a few days, but you already know her a lot better than her own husband did. Maybe you shouldn't waste any more time." She stood up and smiled. "I'll let you get back to work I've got some stuff I could be doing anyways. Oh hey, remember that my club's opening in two weeks. I expect you to be there."

"I will be," Jason promised. He couldn't help but laugh as Carly shook her head at him and walked out the door to her own place.

After a few minutes of reading the same line over and over, Jason finally pushed the papers aside and leaned back in his chair. She may be abrasive, but Carly definitely had her way of getting a point across.

And now he couldn't think of anything but Courtney, and he couldn't help but wonder if Carly had a point.

_Flashback:_

"That's the last box," Courtney said, throwing herself down on the sofa. "I think we did a pretty good job, don't you?"

Jason nodded and sat down next to her. "Not bad," he agreed, looking around. "Court, there's still that whole pile of boxed to unpack," he said as he pointed over to the corner.

She shook her head. "That's just little stuff I don't know what I want to do with yet," she said. "I can finish it later, I'm so tired." She yawned, to demonstrate her point.

"Yeah it is getting a little late," Jason said as he glanced at the newly hung wall clock. He looked back at the disheveled blonde next to him. "Are you going to be okay tonight? I mean, it's been awhile since you've been alone at night, if you want, I can stay and—"

"I'll be fine," Courtney assured him. She stretched and yawned again. "I'm so tired, I'm just going to take a quick shower and go straight to bed."

"Are you sure?" Jason asked.

Courtney laughed. "Jason, I'll be okay," she insisted. "If you want to stay, then that would be great, but I don't need you to, I've got Rosie to keep me company and besides, I don't have the guest bedroom set up yet and I know how uncomfortable it is sleeping on that couch, I still can't believe you did it for that whole time."

_End Flashback._

Jason sighed. Had her tone of voice been sarcastic? Was he supposed to have stayed with her last night and since he hadn't was she mad at him this morning? Maybe she had told Carly that and that's why Carly had paid her little visit.

No, Jason decided, Carly definitely would have said if Courtney was mad or not.

He sighed again and shook his head to clear his thoughts. All of this would have to wait, he realized as he looked at his watch. It was almost noon and he had to take a trip into Atlantic City to check out a few of the office managers at the Golden Towers Casino. He decided that he would go see Courtney as soon as he got in back to town.

Apparently, they had a few of things to discuss. Well, one pretty big thing in any case.

* * *

It had been a quiet evening for Courtney, she had gotten home from work, finished unpacking and hung some pictures and after dinner she had curled up on the sofa and read quietly. She knew Jason was out of town on business and wasn't sure when he'd be back.

The fact that she wasn't completely sure what sort of business he was doing bothered her more than she liked to admit. She wasn't an idiot, she grew up in Atlantic City, she knew what mobsters did, but she just couldn't see Jason or her brother for that matter, doing any of those things. She had a million questions and while she wanted to ask them, she knew just how useless that would be. Jason had practically shut down the other night when she had asked him about what supplies they ran through the docks.

Sonny and Jason didn't handle drugs, did they? She chewed on her lower lip as her eyes roamed from the book over to the window, and she stared out at the moon as more questions formed quickly in her head.

Mobsters killed people. She knew Jason was Sonny's right-hand man, did that mean he was the one that did that? She shuddered as she tried to focus on her book again.

As much as she wanted to ask these questions, she didn't want to know the answers.

A few minutes later she was startled out of the silence by a knock on the door. "Just a second," she called, uncurling her legs and standing up. "Jason, hi!" she said when she opened the door. "I thought you were in Atlantic City."

"I was, I didn't have to stay for very long." As soon as he had gotten there, Jason realized who was the one embezzling and it was going to be more of a problem than he and Sonny had anticipated so he had decided to come back home and wait until they could form a plan before taking care of the employer.

"Well come on in." She closed the door behind him. "What brings you buy so late?"

He shrugged. "Well, I just got back, and was walking by and saw that your lights were on so I figured I'd stop by and see you. I'm sorry if I woke you," he said, seeing the afghan lying on the sofa where she left it.

"Oh no," she said, kissing him quickly. "I was just reading." She smiled. "I'm happy you came though," she added. "I had forgotten how quiet and lonely it is living by myself."

"I know what you mean." They sat down and this time he was the one to kiss her.

"So how was Atlantic City?" she asked, settling back against the cushions.

"Busy," he replied. "It's good to see the casino making such a great profit." _Even if half of it was being stolen_, he added silently.

"Did you do whatever it was you had to do?"

"I was only there to check up on things," Jason hated lying, but he didn't know what else to do. "How was your day?"

"Pretty good," she answered. "Carly was in the diner around nine, and pumping me for details about us," she said with a laugh. Jason rolled his eyes remembering how Carly had showed up looking for Courtney in the first place this morning. He loved her to death, but she really needed to stop manipulating things.

"Yeah, she tried the same thing with me," he said casually. "I didn't bite though, and she got frustrated and left me alone finally."

Courtney laughed. "I need to learn how to do that," she said.

"You will," he promised. "So, what are you reading?" he asked, leaning over to pick up her discarded book. "Of Mice and Men," he said, tapping the cover. "I've got this."

"Actually, this is yours," she said. "I found it on the bookshelf and had never read it, so I was reading it at night, and I guess it got put with my stuff when I packed."

"What do you think so far?" he asked, opening it to the page she had book-marked and pulling her against him.

"I like it," Courtney said, resting her head on his chest. "Some of it is a little confusing, but I really like it."

"Yeah, its one of my favorites," Jason said, dropping a kiss on her forehead. He flipped through the pages, looking for something specific. "I read this book right after the car accident, and there was this one part... Here it is." He pointed to a passage on the page and began reading.

"If I was alone I could live so easy. I could go get a job an' work, an no trouble. No mess at all, and when the end of the month come I could take my fifty bucks and go into town and get whatever I want" He tapped the page with his index finger. "That's when I left the Quartermaines' and decided to start my life over."

"Is that when you started working for Sonny?" she asked quietly. She felt him nod his head. "Are you happier now than you think you would have been?"

"Yeah, I am." He lifted her head up so he could reach her mouth with his. Soon, the book was forgotten and the two of them were stretched out, entwined on the couch.

"Will you stay the night?" Courtney asked awhile later. Jason opened his eyes and looked down to see her big hopeful eyes staring back at him. He swallowed and was surprised to find the next words coming from his mouth.

"I can't," he said, running his hand up and down her back.

"Oh." He saw the look of hurt and disappointment flash through her eyes before she could hide it.

He sighed. "Courtney, it's not that I don't want to," he began. "I just don't think it would be right yet."

"I don't understand."

He took a deep breath. He was about to have an in-depth conversation about his feelings, something he _never _did, and was surprised to find that he didn't mind.

"I like you Courtney, I like you a lot," he said. "More than I should probably, and well, I don't have a lot of experience with these kinds of things. I've never really been good at relationships. I always seem to screw them up. And I don't want to do that this time."

"Jase—"

"No, let me finish," he interrupted gently. "I know we just started this, but I think we both want the same thing, for this to work out. And I just don't think that rushing into anything would be a great idea right now. We've got a lot to deal with as it is, Sonny, for example. And I think we should wait until we don't have to hide things from everyone before we move any further." He watched her carefully, trying to read the expression on her face. "You don't agree?" he asked.

She shook her head. "No, you're right," she said softly. She smiled. "You're right about everything, and if this is going to go any farther, we do need to tell my brother."

"He's not going to like it," Jason said, thinking back to several conversations he had had with Sonny regarding Courtney.

"I know." Courtney sighed. "I think we should wait until Carly's club is opened," she said. "Sonny's probably going to be angry and I don't want anything to happen that will cause tension with Carly before that."

"You're right," Jason said. "But after the club's open, we need to tell him."

"Absolutely." She reached over and picked up the discarded book. "So how many times have you read this?" she asked.

"A few," he replied.

She laughed softly. "I think I've read my favorite book close to a hundred times," she said. "I've had to buy 4 different copies of it, they always fell apart from being handled too much."

"What book was it?" he asked.

"Little Women," she said with a smile. "My mom would read it to me when I was little, and as soon as I could read, it was the first one I read on my own. I've never gotten tired of it."

"Little Women," he repeated. "Which character did you like the best?"

She smiled again. "Meg, the oldest," she answered. "I always wanted to be her, she was the good daughter, the pretty one, the one that did everything expected of her, she was going to be the perfect little housewife, and despite what everyone wanted, she managed to marry for love, and not money."

"Meg was kind of prissy though," Jason said with a laugh. "I think I see you more like Jo actually."

"You've read it?" she asked, lifting her head off his chest again in surprise.

"I've read a lot of things," he said casually. "But yes, you remind me of the other sister, Jo. She was a little more temperamental sure, but she put everyone else's happiness before her own, and still managed to have the perfect life she always wanted."

"I guess I never thought of it that way," she said. She sighed. "I don't remember where I packed that book, I hope it didn't get lost in the moving."

"You'll find it," he said. "But until then, you've got to finish reading this one," Jason said, gesturing to the book she still held in her hands.

"You're right." She rested her head on his chest, suddenly feeling sleepy. "Why don't you read some of it to me?" she suggested, trying to stifle her yawn.

"Sure." He took the book from her hands and opened it back up to her bookmark. He held the book in one hand and stroked her hair with the other.

"A guy sets alone out here at night, maybe readin' books or thinkin' or stuff like that," he recited in his low tone. He smiled to himself as Courtney snuggled closer and sighed contentedly. He knew she'd be asleep soon but kept reading. "Sometimes he gets thinkin', an' he got nothing to tell him what's so an' what ain't so. Maybe if he sees somethin', he don't know whether it's right or not. He can't turn to some other guy and ast him if he sees it too. He can't tell. He got nothing to measure by. I seen things out here. I wasn't drunk. I don't know if I was asleep. If some guy was with me, he could tell me I was asleep, an' then it would be all right. But I jus' don't know."

He stopped for a moment and listened to her light breathing. Craning his neck to look down at her he saw that sure enough, she was sound asleep. Instead of waking her, he set the book down on the table and grabbed the afghan that had ended up on the floor and pulled it over the two of them. He listened to her breathing still, and found that soon they were breathing in tandem, and that he could feel her heart beating in rhythm with his. He closed his eyes and lay there, completely taken with her until he too, fell asleep.

* * *

**_A.N/2_**: John Steinbeck wrote Of Mice and Men and Lousia May Alcott wrote Little Women. Any quotes or characters mentioned belong to them and not me! 


	5. Chapter Five

**_Disclaimer_**: I don't own General Hospital or its characters.

**_Author's Note_**: Wow, I actually don't have much of anything to type here. Again, thanks to everyone who's still reading, I really appreciate it! And if you can think of any Journey scenes you'd like to see redone, let me know. Or, if you have any ideas on how I can either recreate the shaving scene, or do something similar, ideas are always welcome!

* * *

**Love, Daisies, and Troubadours – Chapter 5**

"Jason." Sonny looked up as Jason walked into the penthouse. "How was Atlantic City?" It was a week later and Jason had just gotten back from a second trip to the Golden Towers.

"Big problem," Jason said as he handed him a file. "Andrews has taken literally millions from just the casino alone."

"You think he's working for someone?" Sonny flipped the file open and scanned it. "Is he taking from any of the other companies?"

"Thomas is checking on two other casinos and one of the warehouses and yeah, he has to be working for someone else, he's not smart enough to be doing this on his own."

"Got anyone in mind?"

"Same person you're thinking of. Nothing's positive yet, but we cross-referenced the accounts that the money is being filtered through with accounts being used by some of the competition and one name keeps coming up with the same offshore account locations."

Sonny nodded. "Jackson Parelli." He flipped a few more pages. "We'll just have to wait until Thomas finishes with the rest of his work before we decide on a game plan," he decided as he shut the folder. "How is everything else going?"

"Everything's good." Jason looked around. "It's quiet, where are Carly and Michael?"

"Michael's upstairs with Leticia and Carly is out shopping with Courtney getting stuff for the club." He laughed. "She's driving me crazy with all of this club stuff I can't wait until the place is open. I'm glad she's bothering Courtney for once."

Jason laughed with him. "So how are things with you and Courtney?" he asked casually. "Have you gotten to spend any time with her lately?"

"Not as much as I'd like," Sonny said with a shake of his head. "I feel bad about it, she's been in town for so long now and I've barely gotten to know her. Carly says she's pretty happy and that she seems to be enjoying town." Sonny looked up. "Has she been okay since AJ left town?"

"Yeah she's been great," Jason answered honestly. "She's settled into her new place and AJ won't be bothering her."

"Good, good." Sonny went over to the bar and poured himself a drink, offering one to Jason who declined. "Don't get me wrong, I'm happy she came to Port Charles and I love having my sister around but I'm getting concerned."

"Concerned about what?" Jason asked, wondering if Sonny had caught on to what was going on between him and Courtney.

"Jason, you know if Parelli is the one we're dealing with, we're going to have an all-out war with him and I don't want her to have to see that. She shouldn't have to deal with it."

"You think it'll get that bad?"

Sonny nodded. "Parelli's been trying to get to me for years now. Now that he has and we're going to shut him down, it's going to get ugly," he said seriously. "It's bad enough that Carly has to see that part of my life, I don't want it to touch Courtney."

"Yeah, I guess not." Jason ran his hand through his hair. "You can't just send her away though," he pointed out. "She's not a child."

"You're right," Sonny agreed. "But I can put her through college. On the west coast."

"West coast?" he echoed. "Does she want to go to school there?"

Sonny shrugged. "It doesn't have to be the west coast, it can be anywhere she wants to go, as long as it isn't here," he replied.

"But you just said how Carly said she's happy here, and how much you like having her around," Jason pointed out.

"If getting her out of town saves her life, than it's worth it," Sonny said. He looked over at Jason. "Maybe you could help me," he suggested. "Maybe you could talk to her and find out where she'd like to go to school?"

Jason blinked. "Shouldn't you be the one to do that?"

"If I do, she'll see that I'm just trying to get her out of town," Sonny explained. "If you ask her about school and then I present her with a few different options, she'll see it differently." He laughed. "She's like Carly in that aspect, you know? Things just need to be manipulated slightly. So, can you help me with that?"

"Yeah," Jason said finally, not liking it, but not knowing what else to say. "I'll see what I can do."

"Good." Sonny picked up the folder again. "So what other companies do you think Parelli's infiltrated?"

* * *

"So let me get this straight, you two _still _haven't slept together?" Carly asked incredulously as she and Courtney entered the club. "And you're okay with that?" 

"What am I supposed to do Carly?" Courtney asked exasperatedly. "Threaten to break up with him if he doesn't?"

"That might work," Carly said thoughtfully. "Seriously, I thought that when I talked to him that—"

"Wait, what?" Courtney turned to face the other woman. "You talked to Jason? About what?"

"Nothing really," Carly said quickly. "Well, about you, but we only talked about how much he cares about you and how happy is he with you."

Courtney shook her head. "Please don't do that anymore," she pleaded. "I know you're trying to help, but really, there's no need. We're fine. I'm happy, he's happy, we're good."

"Right." Carly handed her a glass of water. "So when are you going to tell Sonny?"

"We think it's best to wait until after Club 101 opens," Courtney said. "I just think it'll be easier."

"I am a big fan of that idea," Carly agreed. She gestured around. "So what do you think of my place?"

"It's gorgeous," Courtney said genuinely. "I can't even imagine how excited you must be."

"You have no idea," Carly grinned. "Poor Sonny, I must be driving him crazy, but he hasn't said a word to me. Oh, while I have you here, are you still going to take me up on that hostess gig?"

"I don't know Carly," she said reluctantly. "I've already relied on my dad to get me a job, and now you too? Just once, I'd like to get a job not given to me by family."

"Sweetie, this is Port Charles," Carly laughed. "Everyone works for family, it's just how it's done. And, if you become my daytime hostess, you don't have to work opening night which means you can attend the party with Jason."

Courtney rolled her eyes. "And how can I do that without tipping Sonny off?" she asked.

"I have that all figured out." Carly waved her hand dismissively. "I'll just tell Sonny that I told Jason to take you because I want to have the family celebrating my club together and you two are our closest family, so it's only natural that you come together. Trust me, it'll work out perfectly."

"Mm-hmm." Somehow, Courtney knew better than to believe that. "I need to get going," she said standing up. "But I'll let you know about the job later."

"Yeah, yeah, we both know you'll take it." Carly smiled. "I'll see you later."

"Bye." Courtney waved as she walked out into the bright sunshine. She looked at her watch and realized she was going to be late for her shift at the diner. Digging through her purse she finally pulled out her phone and called to tell Penny that she would be running about fifteen minutes behind.

"Carly talk your ear off?"

Courtney smiled and turned around as she put the phone back in her purse. "What else is new?" she asked, standing on tiptoe to kiss Jason. "What are you doing?"

"On my way back from the warehouse." They began walking again. "Did you and Carly have fun today?"

"Yeah we had a great time. She picked up a few odds and ends for the club and we looked at dresses for opening night."

"Oh yes, black tie." Jason made a face. "Did you buy something to wear?"

"Narrowed it down to two possible choices," she confessed. "So we'll see. Oh!" She turned and looked at him quickly. "Carly says she has it worked out so you and I can go together without Sonny getting suspicious."

"What's her plan this time?"

"Something about telling Sonny she wants us to go together because we're family." She laughed. "She wanted to know when we're telling Sonny about us, but she didn't seem too concerned about it, I think she loves the whole secrecy thing."

"Yeah, she would." Jason rolled his eyes. "So when do you get off work tonight?"

"Around seven, why?"

"I thought I'd stop by tonight, I've got the night off."

They reached the entrance of Kelly's and stopped walking. "You know Jason, eventually, I am going to have to spend a night alone at my place."

"You spent the first night alone," Jason pointed out. "But if you don't want me to come over, that's fine, I can—"

"See you around eight?" she asked, slipping her arms around him.

"Eight sounds good," he agreed. "Have fun at work."

"I will." They kissed until Courtney finally pulled away from him. "I really need to get in there, I'm already running late." She laughed as he tried to kiss her again and she swatted at him. "Stop!" she protested.

"All right, all right." He let go of her and stepped back. "I'll see you tonight."

"Bye." She smiled at him again before turning around and almost colliding with someone. "Oh, Elizabeth, I didn't see you there," she apologized.

Elizabeth smiled tightly. "Penny said you were running late, I thought maybe something was wrong."

"Oh, no I was with Carly and just lost track of time," Courtney explained. "You know how she is."

"Yeah." Elizabeth looked over her shoulder pointedly. "So you and Jason, huh? When did that start?"

"Oh, not long ago," Courtney said uncomfortably. "A couple of weeks, maybe."

"I see." Elizabeth nodded. "Good luck with that. Well, since you're here, I'm going to go on break, so if you could cover the front, I'll tell Penny to handle the back?"

"Yeah, sure." Courtney rolled her eyes as she watched as Elizabeth walked away and then glanced around the mostly empty diner. Only one table was occupied, and the guy was only drinking coffee. "Hey Penny, thanks for covering for me," she said as she walked up to the counter and smiled.

"Oh, no problem hon." Penny smiled warmly at her. "Some flowers came for you earlier," she said, gesturing to the box that lay behind the counter. "So who's the secret admirer?"

"I don't know, let's just se—" Courtney's smile faded as she lifted the lid off of the white box.

"What is it?" Penny asked, peering over her shoulder. "Oh wow, those are beautiful," she said, fingering the daisies that lay nestled in the greens. "And daisies are out of season right now, you must be very special."

"Must be," Courtney murmured, picking up the card that was lying on the flowers. She waited until Penny went to refill the one customer's coffee cup before opening the envelope.

"Missing you Daisy, and spending every night dreaming of you on stage. You'll be dancing for me again in no time. See you soon," she whispered before tossing the card down and covering the flowers again. "Damn," she muttered to herself. "AJ, you bastard." Quickly, she moved behind the counter and called the first person that came to mind.


	6. Chapter Six

**_Disclaimer_**: I don't own General Hospital or its characters.

**_Author's Note_**: Aww! You guys spoil me with your reviews; it makes me smile! Thank you to everyone who is reading and don't worry, for everyone that's come up with an idea of what I should add in this story, I've got a plan for each suggestion, and I hope that they make you happy. Thanks again for all of the feedback, I really do appreciate it.

* * *

**Love, Daisies, and Troubadours – Chapter 6**

Jason paused outside of Kelly's and peered through the window. If Courtney was the slightest bit scared because of the flowers, he couldn't tell. As usual, she was running all over the diner, laughing with the patrons as she poured their coffee, and even pausing to laugh at a joke either Georgie or Dillon was telling her. She gave no indication that she was scared that her ex-husband was trying to reenter her life.

Only Jason wasn't so sure AJ had sent the flowers.

_Flashback._

"Hard at work I see."

Jason shifted his gaze from the freight slowly approaching the dock to the trench-coated man that stood before him. "Mr. Parelli," he said with a nod.

"Mr. Morgan." His voice was only slightly mocking. "Might I have a moment of your time?" Jason only nodded and waited for Jackson Parelli to speak again.

"Another shipment coming in?" Jackson asked, jerking his head towards the water.

"You're here to talk about a shipment of coffee?" Jason inquired, meeting the older man's eyes with his own. "Do us both a favor and tell me why you're here."

"Rumor has it you've been spending more time than usual in Atlantic City," Jackson said. "Problems at the casinos?"

Jason shook his head. "Doesn't hurt to check up on things every once in awhile," he said with a shrug.

"Perhaps," Jackson mused. "I've been thinking of adding some new additions to my profits as well. Nothing extravagant, maybe adding a few showgirls over at the Sinful Nights casino." He handed Jason a photograph. "Think she'd be interested?"

_End Flashback._

"Hey, what are you standing outside for?" Courtney held open the door as she looked at him curiously.

He shook his head. "Sorry, just finishing up a phone call," he lied, holding up his cell phone. He followed her into the diner.

"Well, have a seat," Courtney said, waving to an empty table a few feet away. "We just got real busy and Elizabeth is still on her break so I can't talk right now, but I'll bring you some coffee while you wait." Before he could answer she offered him a parting smile and was rushing to the counter to pick up an order that was ready. He watched her for a few moments more, as he slipped his hand into his pocket and closed his fist around the photograph.

_Flashback:_

Jason stared at the photograph in his hands. It was of Courtney, dressed as Daisy, on stage at the Oasis. He looked up at Jackson. "What are you trying to get at?"

"I know that's Corinthos' sister. It's ironic, don't you think? To be so against the unsavory side of business and yet have your little sister stripping? I can think of a lot of associates who would hesitate to do business with your boss if they were to be aware of this situation."

"I'm sorry, did you have some business deal to propose?" Jason asked. "Because that freight is about to come in and I'll need to be on my way."

Jackson smiled smugly. "I hear the Golden Towers is under scrutiny for embezzlement and other problems," he said. He stepped closer to Jason. "I also hear you're checking my businesses for any discrepancies. I'd suggest you start looking elsewhere besides my men if you want to avoid any trouble with any of the associates pulling out of contracts."

"I don't know where you get your information from, but you have it wrong," Jason said. "But while you're throwing out threats, I have one for you. I think you know what will happen if anything happens to Mr. Corinthos' sister."

"Just remember what I said," Jackson said. "You can keep that picture, I have more." He turned to walk away, and after a few steps turned back to him. "I'm sure I won't be seeing you in Atlantic City anytime soon. Good day."

_End Flashback._

"Finally." Courtney set a cup of coffee in front of him and sat down across from him. She frowned a little, seeing the look on his face. "Is everything okay?" she asked.

"Yeah." He attempted a smile at her. "So what happened?"

She shrugged. "I came into work and I talked for a minute with Elizabeth and then she left and Penny told me that someone had delivered flowers for me. I opened the box and there were some daisies and this card." She held out to him. "It's gotta be AJ right?" she asked. "I mean, who else would pull something like that?"

Jason scanned the card and then looked back at Courtney. Again, he was amazed that she really didn't seem scared about the whole situation and that's when he realized she was counting on him to take care of her, just like he had been, and that's why she seemed so unaffected by everything. He didn't resent her for thinking that; they both knew that he would do whatever it took to protect her, and to be honest, he was flattered that she had put all of her trust into him. Maybe flattered wasn't the right word, he wondered. Maybe it was something else he felt.

He stared at the card again, trying to focus on the matter at hand. For AJ to send Courtney flowers on the same day that another man had all but threatened her life was a little more coincidental than Jason thought plausible.

No, he decided. AJ was likely not the culprit, which meant Parelli was. He looked up at the petite blonde again and offered her a smile, which she returned brightly.

Yes, Courtney expected him to save her once again, and while he wanted more than anything to do that for her, he wasn't sure how he would this time.

"Jason?" Her voice brought him out of his thoughts once again.

"I'm sorry, did you say something?"

"No." Courtney shook her head. "But you look a million miles away. I'm right though, aren't I? AJ is the one that sent these?"

"Yeah," Jason said with a nod before he could stop himself. "AJ's trying to play games with you."

"Courtney?" Elizabeth appeared at the table and crossed her arms in front of her chest. "Penny is going home early because she has a headache. You're going to have to cover all of her tables because I'm too busy in my own section." She glanced at Jason and then again at Courtney. "Is that going to be a problem?"

"No," Courtney said with a forced smile. "No problem at all." She stood up and looked around the diner, trying to figure out where she was going to go next. Everyone seemed fine for the moment so she turned back to Jason. "Can I bring you some more coffee?"

"Actually," Elizabeth interrupted. "Jason's in my section."

"Of course." She smiled patiently again. "Well, let me know when you're leaving," she said as Jason just grinned at her and she moved away from the table.

As she moved about the diner, Courtney kept stealing glances at Jason's table out of the corner of her eye. Elizabeth was all but falling over herself trying to get Jason to talk to her, and she couldn't help but giggle when he turned his back on her and pulled out his cell phone.

She kept pretty busy for the next half hour and was surprised when she saw Sonny walk into the diner and head for Jason's table. He sat down and immediately they were immersed in what looked like a tense conversation. It was a good thing Kelly's was busy today otherwise Courtney would be tempted to eavesdrop on the two of them, just to see what they were up to. As much as she didn't know what they did, she was still more curious than she liked to admit.

Courtney was too busy to notice that both men kept looking her way as they talked.

"Do you think Parelli was serious?" Sonny asked, keeping his voice low as he looked at Jason.

Jason shrugged. "He knows we're on to him, so he could be. He definitely did his research on Courtney though."

"Damn it," Sonny swore. "I knew this was going to happen, I knew she wouldn't be safe here." He looked at his sister again. "What did you say when you told her?"

"I didn't," he answered with a shake of his head. "She thinks its AJ, and for now, I think that's best."

"Yeah, you're right." Sonny sighed heavily. "I still want her guarded heavily at all times," he said, with another glance. "She isn't to be alone for even a second."

"I'll call Marco and get him out here. I have to be at the docks again tonight but I'll have her stay at my place tonight," Jason said. "What are we going to do about Parelli?"

"We'll have to make him think we're looking at someone else. It's obvious he's the guilty one now, so if we fool him into a false sense of security, it'll be easier in the end," Sonny replied. He stood up. "I have a meeting I need to get to. Call Marco, and then fill Courtney in on what's going on security wise."

Jason just nodded as Sonny left. He waited until Courtney seemed to hit a lull and then went up to her.

"Hey," he said softly, touching her shoulder. "Got a minute?"

She turned around. "Is everything okay? I saw Sonny."

"Yeah, everything's fine." He sighed, hating that he had to lie to her. "We can't seem to find AJ at the moment though, so either Marco or I will be with you at all times until we do find him," he said.

"Oh." Courtney nodded. "Do you think he's actually in town?"

"I don't know just yet. Look, just to be safe, why don't you go see Carly when you get out of work tonight? That way, when I get done with work, I can come get you and you can just stay at the penthouse tonight with me, okay?"

"Okay," she agreed. She reached out and grabbed his hand. "Everything's going to be okay, right?"

"Right," he assured her, squeezing her hand.

"Good." She smiled again. "Well alright then, I should get back to work, and I'll see you at Carly's tonight. Will Marco be taking me there?"

"He's on his way here now," Jason said. "I'll be waiting outside until he is."

"Okay then." She let go of his hand and kissed his cheek. "I'll see you later."

"Bye." Again, he watched her completely amazed that she had indeed put all of her trust into him and didn't offer up a single question.

And it still bothered him that he couldn't figure out if it was still just flattery that he felt, or something much stronger.

* * *

"God, AJ's such a jackass!" Carly fumed as she paced the length of the living room. "I can't believe after everything he's still coming after you!"

Courtney shrugged. "He went away too easily in the first place," she pointed out. "I figured that I'd have to deal with him again." For the last forty-five minutes she had been at Carly's and they had done nothing but talk about AJ.

"But still!" Carly sighed as she finally sat down next to her. "I can't wait til Sonny and Jason get a hold of him, he's going to wish he had never come back."

"You're right," she agreed. "But seriously, enough about AJ. How much stuff did you get done at the club today?"

"Oh a ton. Oh! That reminds me!" Carly's eyes lit up as she faced Courtney excitedly. "I've decided to make opening night a masquerade ball of sorts."

"What? Carly, it's less than two weeks until that night, how can you do that?"

Carly shrugged. "Port Charles isn't that big, and all I need to do is tell a few key people, and the whole town will know in plenty of time."

She had a point, Courtney realized. "Well, costumes are fun. What is your theme going to be?"

"Oh, it's going to be incredible," Carly said, her voice excited again. "Think about it: Old Hollywood Glamour."

"Old Hollywood glamour," Courtney repeated. "What do you mean?"

"Like a 1950s nightclub," Carly explained. "I'm going to dress as Marilyn Monroe. I mean, don't get me wrong, I know you're the blonde one and you should dress as her, but it's my party and I'll do what I want and besides, I already have another idea that's perfect for you!" Carly's speech became faster as she gained momentum and Courtney knew it was useless to say anything until she had finished. "And I mean, come on, I could have Sonny and Jason looking like gangsters, even though Jason could really pull off the James Dean look because of the leather jacket, but I don't think he would and—"

Courtney half-tuned Carly out as she rambled on. She had to admit, Carly's idea did sound fun but she couldn't help but wonder if maybe a costume party would make it easier for AJ to get to her.

Even if he did, she realized with a small smile, she would be protected. It was already set for Jason to be with her that night, and now with all of this added security on Sonny's orders, he definitely wouldn't question her and Jason being near each other.

"It sounds great Carly," she said sincerely when she realized Carly had stopped talking. "Now, what's this brilliant idea for my outfit?"


	7. Chapter Seven

_**Author's Note**: _Here's the next installment. I really wanted to try to recreate the whole 1920's montage in this story, but after watching that episode over and over, I still couldn't figure out how to do it, so this is what I ended up deciding on instead. As always, feedback is appreciated!

* * *

**Love, Daisies, and Troubadours – Chapter 7**

"Have you ever thought about going to school?"

Courtney opened her eyes and picked her head up off of Jason's chest. "That came out of nowhere," she said. It was the night before Carly's club opening and she and Jason were on the couch in his living room. In the two weeks since the flower incident she hadn't spent a night alone, either she stayed at the Penthouse or Jason stayed with her. They stayed in mostly, not because they didn't want Sonny to see them like Carly assumed, but because Jason was spending all of his time at work. In fact, it was past midnight and he had just gotten home and found Courtney asleep on the couch. When he had tried to take her into the bedroom she had woken up and they hadn't moved since.

Jason shrugged, hoping he could keep this conversation nonchalant. "Well have you?" he asked again.

She nodded slowly. "I used to all the time," she admitted. "I always thought school was going to be my escape from my mom. Don't get me wrong, she was great, well, she was when she tried at least," she amended. "But my future didn't always look so great at times."

"What do you mean?" Jason guided her head back down and let his hand slide down her back.

She shrugged into him. "Like I said, my mom tried. She did her best, but stability wasn't something she knew a lot about. There was no way we could afford to send me to school but it didn't matter, she always said she couldn't bear to be away from me for that long. Not until her next con came along anyway." When she spoke there were no traces of sadness or regret in her voice, it was all very matter-of-fact.

"What did you want to study?" he asked.

She laughed slightly. "I never could decide," she answered. "I wanted to do it all I guess."

"You still could you know." Jason hated saying the words. He was beginning to see that Sonny's plan might actually be easier than they had anticipated and he didn't like how that felt.

"What do you mean?" She picked her head up again to look into his eyes.

"Sonny," he clarified. "Courtney, whatever you wanted to do, wherever you wanted to go, he could make it happen. He would be more than happy to."

She nodded before resting her chin on his chest. "I know he would, but…" her voice trailed off hesitantly.

"But what?" He threaded his hand through her hair and pulled lightly, causing her to scowl at him. He grinned sheepishly.

"But maybe I don't want any of that anymore," she finished thoughtfully. "Maybe I'm starting to find the stability I always wanted right here." She caught her lower lip between her teeth for a second. "I don't know, I guess I can always keep it in mind," she added.

"Yeah." Jason smiled into her hair, realizing he wanted her to stay just as much as she did. He was getting tired of this; he couldn't deny that this girl was getting under his skin for much longer. If they didn't tell Sonny soon he wasn't sure he could keep doing this.

"So, about tomorrow night," he began.

"What about it?" She tapped her fingers across his chest trying to keep time with his heartbeat, but she was just a half a beat off.

"Carly said she had my clothes all picked out for me."

Courtney giggled. "She does, and I've seen them," she said, her eyes twinkling. "But I can't tell you what she picked."

"Why not?"

"Because then you won't go." She laughed again before kissing him just under his chin. "Just promise to be a good sport about it?" she pleaded.

"I better not look stupid," he grumbled. When Courtney only kept giggling instead of reassuring him, Jason flipped them over on the couch, so that she was on the bottom now. "Am I going to look stupid?" he asked, his hands sliding under her thin tank top to tickle the sides of her stomach. "Am I?"

"No," she managed to gasp between giggles. "I promise." She breathed deeply as he let go of her, and her breath turned into a yawn. "It's getting late," she said reluctantly. "And you know Carly's going to be here before the sun is up with little errands for you to run for her."

"Yeah, I can't wait," Jason remarked dryly. Courtney yawned again and he smiled. "All right, you head on up and I'll be up as soon as I take care of a few things."

"You still have work to do?" she asked.

He shook his head. "No, I just need to make a phone call, and then I'll be up, I promise."

"Okay," she said as she stood up from the couch. "Don't be too long, I don't know how long I can stay awake."

"Five minutes," he promised as he watched her climb the stairs. He made his phone call and as promised, was on his way upstairs in less than five minutes.

He leaned against the doorway and paused to take in the scene before him. For the last week or so, Courtney hadn't bothered to sleep in the guest bedroom so she was curled up in his bed, with Rosie at her feet. Both were sound asleep, which he had expected.

Jason sighed and rested his head against the hard oak frame of the door. As much as he hated to admit it, Sonny was right. As long as Jackson Parelli knew that they were onto him, Courtney wouldn't be safe, and as much as he cared about her and wanted to be with her, he couldn't risk her life just so he was happy.

That was the other thing he didn't want to admit, the extent of his feelings for the girl sleeping in his bed. As far as he had always been concerned, Jason Morgan didn't fall in love. He had come close with Robin, but in recent weeks he realized that this was much more.

With another sigh he turned around and headed back downstairs. He needed to end this war with Parelli before it really even started. He knew Sonny was forming a plan, but it was one that would take months, possibly years to execute. Jason didn't think they had that kind of time anymore.

And if it was true, if he did indeed love Courtney, he was going to have to do something, anything, to keep her safe.

* * *

"All right, we're coming down! Are you ready?" Carly's voice floated down into the living room of the penthouse and Sonny rolled his eyes at Jason. It was an hour before Carly's club was going to open their doors and they were all getting ready to leave.

"Yeah Carly we're ready. If you don't hurry it up, we're going to be late to your own party."

"Oh that's just nonsense," Carly called back. "We all know a party isn't a party until I'm there!" She grinned at Courtney. "Let's make an entrance, shall we?" She grabbed her hand and led her down the stairs, stopping to pose dramatically at the last step. "How do we look?"

Carly was an exact replica of Marilyn Monroe from the movie Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, from the bright pink strapless gown and matching gloves, layers and layers of sparkling diamonds around her neck, right down to the bleached blonde hair.

Courtney's costume, picked out specifically by Carly, was that of Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany's. She wore a black cocktail dress, black gloves, and a matching necklace and tiara set of pearls and diamonds.

"Ahem," Carly tapped her foot impatiently. "I said, how do we look?"

"Wasn't Breakfast at Tiffany's made after the 1950's?" Sonny asked, his eyes crinkling at the corners as he grinned. "And wouldn't it make more sense for Courtney to be Marilyn, seeing as how she's the blonde one?"

"It's my party and I can do whatever I want," Carly said, blowing a kiss at her husband. "And if anyone asks, the theme is Old Hollywood Glamour, okay?"

"I'm just teasing, calm down. You look gorgeous, you know you do." Sonny tried to pacify his wife as he walked over to her and took her hand to hold her at arms length. "Are those diamonds real?"

"Would I wear synthetic?" she scoffed.

"Hmm. Don't lose them." He looked over at Jason and then back at Carly. "How come Jason still gets to wear his leather coat and I'm stuck in this monkey suit?"

"First of all, that monkey suit came straight out of your closet," Carly said, smoothing his tie. "And just so you know, you look just like Cary Grant. Doesn't he?" She looked at Courtney for confirmation. "See, you do. And well, as for Jason, come on. He's the perfect James Dean."

"I look stupid Carly," Jason spoke up finally.

"No you don't. I would never let my best friend look stupid. Not at my party anyways," she said airily. "Courtney, tell Jason he looks gorgeous please."

Courtney shot her a look. "You do not look stupid," she said, trying not to make eye contact with Jason, knowing it would tip Sonny off.

"See, and Courtney doesn't lie." Carly looked at the clock on the mantle. "Okay, we've got to go Sonny, I need to make sure every thing is perfect, let's go!" She grabbed his arm and dragged him out the door. "We'll see you two there!" she called as the door slammed shut.

Courtney laughed. "I think she's on a pure adrenalin rush," she said, approaching Jason with a smile on her face. "But she was right, you do look very nice tonight."

Jason made a face. "I still feel stupid." He smiled then, placing his hands on her waist and pulling her the rest of the way to him. "You, on the other hand, look--" he fumbled then, not sure of which adjective to use, knowing that nice wasn't going to be the right choice. "Beautiful."

"Thank you," she said shyly, feeling her cheeks flush. "Are we going to be able to do this?" she asked suddenly.

"Do what?"

"Tonight. Act like we're just friends around Sonny?" She looked up at him. "Can we do that?"

"We have to," he said simply. "And then tomorrow, we'll tell Sonny the truth." He was hoping that they would. The only way they could though, was if the plan he had come up with last night worked. "Come on," he opened the door for her. "We better get there quick, I don't want to miss any of Carly's meltdowns tonight, as I'm sure there will be more than one."

* * *

Four hours later and Carly's opening was a success. All of Port Charles had shown up, with quite the array of Hollywood costumes. There were Frank Sinatras, Dean Martins, Elizabeth Taylors, even an Elvis or two were seen. Much to Carly's chagrin, there were a few Marilyns and Audreys as well. She had gotten over it though, once Sonny assured her that she was the most gorgeous one there, and had convinced her to stop overseeing everything for a while so that they could dance.

Across the room, Jason and Courtney were standing against a wall, watching them. Well, Courtney was watching them and Jason was watching the crowd for anyone suspicious. He didn't think anyone would show up, but that didn't mean he was going to let his guard down.

"Hey." Courtney nudged him with her shoulder. "Let's go dance."

"I don't dance," he said, his eyes still roaming the crowds.

"You don't dance," she repeated slowly.

"No, I hate it." He finally tore his eyes away from the room and looked at her when he noticed she had gone silent. "I don't know how," he explained, hoping it would be enough. He sighed when she just nodded, hey eyes still fixated on the floor. "Come on," he said, taking her hand and leading her across the room to another corner. He opened a door Courtney didn't even know was there and shut it behind them.

They were outside now, on a ground level terrace with strands of white lights illuminating everything. "What are we doing out here?" she asked, facing Jason.

"This." He stepped closer and kissed her. "I'm sorry I don't dance," he said kissing the side of her head.

"It's okay," she said, leaning into him. "This is nicer."

"Are you having fun?"

She laughed. "I think I'm having more fun than you are," she answered. "But you're being an awfully good sport about this whole night, and I know it means a lot to Carly."

"It's Carly," he said with a shrug. "She knows I'd do anything for her, just like she would for me. For a while, all we had was each other. We'd lie our lives down for each other if needed."

"It has to be incredible to have that kind of connection with someone," Courtney said, resting her head on his shoulder. "Carly's very lucky to—"

"You too," he said suddenly, backing away so that he could look at her.

"What?" she asked, confusion evident in her eyes.

"You have that connection with someone too," he said quietly. He hesitated, knowing what he wanted to say, but not sure how to go about it. He had no clue if he sounded like an idiot, but hey, he was dressed as one, he may as well sound like one. He realized Courtney was still staring at him so he cleared his throat and went on.

"Just so you know, I would lie my life down for you just as I would for Carly," he finished, hoping that would be all he had to say. No such luck.

"Why?" Courtney whispered, looking at him quizzically.

"Court, I lo—"

The rest of his sentence was cut off by a collective scream coming from inside the club, followed by what sounded like gunshots and glass breaking. "Damnit!" He reached into his back pocket and pulled out a gun. "Stay here!" He demanded, pushing Courtney down to the ground and throwing the door open again. The open door only intensified the sounds coming from within, and now Courtney could see what was happening. There were two men at the top of the staircase, firing down into the crowd, while three more were spread out on opposite ends. Tables had been flung onto their sides to use as shields, and she could see not only Sonny and Jason with their guns firing back, but Mac Scorpio and Scotty Baldwin were as well.

Just as suddenly as the attack had started, it was over. She didn't know if the other men were still there or if they had fled, but people were getting up from the hiding spots and the gunshots had ceased.

Courtney raced back into the room, and was immediately grabbed by Carly.

"Court, thank God, I didn't see you, are you okay?"

"I'm fine Carly, I was outside." She looked around the room. "I don't understand…" he voice trailed off.

"Where's Sonny?" Carly's voice grew high-pitched as she looked around for her husband. "I don't see him. Courtney, where are Sonny and Jason?" She gripped Courtney's arm and started to drag her into the center of the room.

"Carly!" Sonny's voice snapped Carly out of her frenzy and he appeared on their left. "You okay?" he asked, putting an arm around her.

"Yeah, God Sonny! Who was that? Are you okay? Was anyone hurt?" The questions came faster than anyone could answer them.

"Hey." Jason's voice caused Courtney to jump and she sighed in relief when she saw that he seemed to be okay.

"Jase." She wrapped her arms around him and was pleased to see he held onto her just as tightly. "You're bleeding," she realized as she pulled back. "Jason, you're hurt, where are you hurt?" She gasped when she saw he was holding onto his right arm. "You were shot," she whispered, leading him over to a chair and making him sit down.

"I'm fine," he insisted. "Look, take Marco, you and Carly both get out of here. Go back to the penthouse, and wait for us."

"No!" she said, shaking her head. "Jason, I'm not leaving you, not right now." She ran the palm of her hand over the side of his face. "You need to go to the hospital."

"I've got to stay and talk to the cops, I'll be fine. Please, it'll be better if the two of you just go."

"All right," she said, nodding. "Fine, we'll go." She rested her forehead against his. "You promise you're okay?" He nodded against her. "Okay." She tilted his chin up and kissed him.

"What the hell is going on over there?" Sonny demanded, nodding at his sister and his friend. "Carly?"

She just shook her head, not sure what to say. "Sonny, I—"

"Courtney!" Sonny's sharp voice brought her back and she pulled away from Jason, her eyes still closed. This certainly wasn't the way she had planned for Sonny to find this out.

However she was saved by any further confrontation when Mac and Scott decided to use that exact moment to place handcuffs on both Sonny and Jason and escort them out of the club.

"Come on," Carly said, taking Courtney's arm. "We'll follow them to the PCPD."

"He saw us, didn't he?" Courtney murmured as she and Carly slid into the backseat of the limo that was waiting for them.

"Yeah honey, he did." Carly clucked sympathetically. "But maybe you'll be lucky. Maybe this random act of mob violence will take his mind off how he just saw his best friend's mouth on his baby sister's."

"You think maybe he'll take it okay?" she asked, lifting her gaze to meet Carly's.

"Aw Sweetie, look on the bright side." Carly reached over and patted her hand. "Maybe he'll end up spending the night in lock-up."


	8. Chapter Eight

**Love, Daisies, and Troubadours -- Chapter 8**

"You'll be free to go as soon as the paperwork is done," Alexis said, entering the room Jason was being held in. "There were enough eyewitnesses to support that you came into the room after the shooting began, you didn't start it."

Jason nodded. "And Sonny?" he asked.

"Sonny is being released as well. He gave the names of the gunmen to the authorities. He'll be in here shortly, and you two will be able to leave within the next hour. Is there anything else I can do?"

"No." Jason shook his head. "Thanks," he said, lifting his eyes to meet Alexis' briefly.

"You're welcome. Oh, and don't think I won't be filing a complaint against the PCPD for bringing you here instead of the hospital." Alexis half-smiled before leaving the room again.

Jason sighed and rested his hand in his heads. His arm was hurting, but the pain was tolerable. Luckily the bullet had only grazed his upper arm so no real damage had been done.

Unless he counted Sonny actually seeing him and Courtney together, which in his opinion would cause a lot more damage than a bullet ever could.

The door opened again, but Jason didn't need to look up to tell who it was. "Alexis says it'll be about an hour," he said.

"You want to explain what I saw tonight?" Sonny demanded.

"No," Jason answered honestly, shaking his head to further emphasize. He didn't think right now was the best time to get into this, not while they were being held at the PCPD and not while he was nursing a gunshot wound, no matter how slight it was.

"No?" Sonny echoed. "I don't think no is going to work this time. I want to know what exactly went through your head how did you think it would be okay to sleep with my sister?"

"We're not sleeping together."

Sonny shook his head. "You know better than this Jason," he said as he began pacing. "I told you I didn't want Courtney becoming a part of this lifestyle, I didn't want the ugliness to reach her. I told you all of this and you agreed with me! You offered to help me convince her to leave town for school and—"

"I never offered," Jason protested, rising from his own chair. "You told me that I would help you. You're the one that started this Sonny. You're the one that made me guard her at the Oasis, made me spend all of my time with her. _You're _the one responsible for me falling in love with her!"

"Love!" Sonny shook his head angrily. "When are you going to love her the most Jason? When she's being held hostage as ransom by our enemies? Or when you're lying in a hospital bed after being shot?"

"You don't know what you're talking about," Jason said as he shook his own head. Sonny's voice kept rising with his anger, but Jason managed to keep his tone low and even. "You and Carly make things work just fine. There's no reason I couldn't, no reason I shouldn't try to make things work with Courtney."

"Courtney isn't Carly!"

Carly and Courtney arrived at the police station and from where they were standing, they could see into the interrogation room. While they couldn't hear anything, they could both tell from their movements that it wasn't exactly a pleasant conversation.

"They can't do this, I'm going in there," Courtney said. She was surprised when Carly grabbed her hand and held her back. "Carly, we can't just sit here and let the-"

"Just give them a minute," Carly reasoned. "Let them work some of this out on their own, and we'll step in if it gets out of hand. Right now though, they need to do this themselves." She offered the blonde a comforting smile as she slipped an arm around her waist and leaned her head against hers as they watched the two men argue.

"Exactly. Courtney is a hell of a lot more levelheaded than Carly. She won't get in the way, and she's not stupid enough to try and get in the way of business like Carly seems to do whenever she feels like it."

"Look around Jason," Sonny said, switching tactics. "We're at the PCPD because we were shot at because of what we do. Do you really want Courtney to be a part of that? Do you want her to spend days, weeks, months, the rest of her life worrying and looking over her shoulder because she's afraid it'll happen again?"

"That's going to happen no matter what Sonny!" Jason sighed. "Courtney's already become a target because she's your sister. Jackson Parelli already made that clear, and he had no idea that she anything but _your sister_."

"How long has this been going on?" Sonny asked.

"I am not going to discuss Courtney with you anymore," Jason said. He couldn't let Sonny see that he was getting to him. That maybe he was right and letting Courtney go would be the best thing for everybody involved. He opened the door to leave the room.

"Fine, we don't have to discuss it." Sonny's voice bellowed throughout the department as he followed Jason out into the main area. "But I will tell you for damn sure that I will do everything I can to make sure you never see my sister again!"

"Sonny enough!" Both men looked up at the voice and were surprised to see Carly and Courtney standing there.

"Courtney, I thought I asked you and Carly to go home," Jason said before she cut him off.

"You were shot, and both of you were brought here in handcuffs and you expected me to go home and wait patiently by the phone?" Courtney became visibly upset as she spoke. "I'm sorry, I couldn't do that, I needed to make sure you were okay."

"You hear that Jason? Yeah, she's real different than Carly, isn't she?" Sonny asked.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Carly asked, whirling to face her husband.

"I told you, I'm not discussing this anymore tonight!" Jason said.

"You don't have to," Sonny said. "You don't have to talk about it ever again." He turned and faced Courtney. "You however," he said pointing a finger at her. "You are going home and packing your things because I'm sending you and Carly to the island for a few days until things calm down and then." He paused to take a deep breath. "You are leaving Port Charles. I'm arranging for you to enroll in college in California."

"Excuse me?" Courtney stared at him in disbelief. "You're not seriously banishing me from Port Charles."

"You're damn right I am! Courtney, it's too dangerous for you to be here. What happened tonight is just a glimpse into what my life is like, and I should have done this as soon as you came to town. I will not forgive myself if anything happens to you." He softened his voice. "Court please, just trust me. This is for the best."

"The best," she repeated. She folded her arms across her chest and stared at him defiantly. "I'm not leaving town."

"You don't have a choice!" Sonny's voice roared again. "Courtney, not only are you not safe here, but by you being here, you're jeopardizing not only my job, but Jason's as well!"

"Oh come on Sonny, that's low," Carly spoke up, seeing the look on Courtney's face. The girl couldn't hide her feelings very well, and right now she looked absolutely crushed so Carly felt the need to step in for her.

"You stay out of this," Sonny ordered, looking at Carly. "Did you know about this? Of course you did. You probably helped them be together instead of doing what you should have and pushed them apart. "

"Okay, enough!" Carly snapped. "I get that you're really stressed out tonight, I do. Who wouldn't be after being shot at or whatever, but do not for one second think that that means you can talk to me like that! I won't accept it and further more, I won't listen to it. Now either you calm the hell down so we can discuss this rationally like _adults _or I'm leaving and you can find your own way home because I'm not going to stand here and watch you power trip everyone."

"Carly, take Courtney, go home and pack your bags. You're both leaving for the island in four hours," Sonny said through gritted teeth.

"I'm not going anywhere!" Courtney protested. "Sonny, you might be able to tell all of your men what to do, but you're not the boss of me, and you will not force me to go anywhere!"

"How do you think I know you want to go to school out of state?" Sonny asked icily. "How could I possibly know that you've dreamt of going to college ever since you graduated high school or what courses you'd like to study?" He paused, watching satisfactorily as Courtney looked at Jason, who couldn't look her in the eye. "Why do you think that conversation even came up in the first place?" He asked, watching her face fall further.

"Jason?" She waited for him to look at her, but he wouldn't.

"That's right. I'm not the only one who thinks it would be better for you to leave town Courtney," Sonny went on as he kept an eye on the two figures standing in front of him.

"Jason look at me," she commanded quietly. She stepped closer and grabbed his chin with her hand and forced him to meet her gaze.

"I'm sorry," he said hoarsely. "Sonny asked me to find out what you thought about school."

She shook her head as she backed away. "Do you only do what Sonny asks you to?" she asked. "Did he also ask you to pretend to care about me this entire time? I mean, this all started because he asked you to watch me while I worked at the club, has this all been some plan of Sonny's so that he could ultimately get rid of me?"

"Courtney, no, that's not it," Jason said. He reached for her but she slapped his hand away. "Please, just—"

"No," she said with a shake of her head. She swallowed hard and ignored the tears that stung her eyes. "You could have told me what Sonny wanted, and you didn't. How can I be so sure it was just that one conversation? We've had so many where I've spilled my soul to you, I've told you things I'd never tell anyone else. How can I be sure now that you weren't running back to Sonny to tell him everything?"

"I wasn't," he said honestly. "Court-"

"No," she repeated. She turned and faced Sonny. "Do you know the only reason I came to town in the first place was so that I could meet you? You, the big brother I always dreamed of having and then one day found out I actually had. I wanted you to be proud of me, to love me, to let me become a part of your family, but from the moment I came into your life, you've been trying to come up with ways to get rid of me." She closed her eyes and took a deep breath before opening them again.

"You want me gone? Fine. I'll make it easy on you. I'm gone." She turned on her heel and walked out of the police department without looking at either man again.

"Great Sonny." Carly threw her hands up in the air as she glared at her husband. "Now she's taking off for God knows where and she's angry at the both of you, so that makes her a great target now."

Carly was right. Courtney was primed for anyone to just grab her off the streets now and they still weren't sure where Parelli or his men were for the night.

"Go find her," Sonny said. "Explain to her that I need you to at the island until things are taken care of here. Tell her that after that, she can do whatever she wants."

"Including staying Port Charles?" Carly asked, her eyebrow raised suspiciously.

"Except that," Sonny said.

Carly shot an apologetic look at Jason before turning to Sonny again. "I really hope you're happy," she said with a shake of her head. "You better hope I can find her and that she'll listen to me." She shook her head again and left the station herself, not sure of where she was going to find Courtney, or where even to look for her.

It was at this moment that Scott Baldwin walked up to them with a smirk on his face. "You two are free to go now," he said handing them some paperwork. "And thanks for the show, my men really enjoyed watching your lives played out like that."

Sonny eyed Jason as they walked silently out of the building. "It's best that she leaves," he said finally. "You know it as well as I do, and once you start thinking with your head again instead of your heart, you'll realize that I'm right. That she'll be better off away from us."

Jason stared at him wordlessly before shaking his head and walking away. He was right, under any other circumstances he would wholeheartedly agree with Sonny on this.

The only problem was, this was the first time he had ever thought with his heart first. He sighed, reaching for his cell phone to see if Carly had found Courtney yet. If not, he would comb the street of Port Charles himself trying to find her. Sonny may have had a few good points in his rant, but Jason wasn't hearing it. This was the first time he ever allowed anything but common sense and logic run his life and he wasn't about to let reason back in, not if it was only going to ruin everything that had been brought into his life. Now that he knew what he had been missing out on, he wasn't going to lose any of it, especially Courtney.


	9. Chapter Nine

**Author's Note**: Well look at this, two updates in one day! I wish it happened more often, but I got really excited about writing this and knew where I wanted to go next, so here's the next chapter.

As for this chapter… way back in Chapter 4, I told you to pay attention to a few things that happened there because they'd come to play in the future. Well, the future is this chapter.

Hope you enjoy this chapter, and the previous one as well! As always, feedback is appreciated.

* * *

**Love, Daisies, and Troubadours – Chapter 9**

"So this happens all the time?" Courtney looked at Carly curiously. Carly had found her almost immediately after leaving the police department, and against her better judgment she had allowed Carly to convince her to go with her to the island for now. It was several hours later and they were on a jet going to a place Carly described as breathtakingly beautiful and exotic. Too bad she wasn't in the mood for a tropical vacation.

Carly shrugged. "I wouldn't say all the time, but I've probably lost count of how many times Sonny's been shot at, or myself for that matter."

"And you're okay with that?" Courtney sounded incredulous and Carly turned to look at her.

"Jason's never told you about any of it?" she asked.

"No." Courtney shook her head. "I would try and ask, but he always changed the topic. We never talked about his work other than the basics. He never went into detail, and I'm still not sure what happened tonight really."

"Neither am I," Carly admitted. "But I'm hoping Sonny will fill me in soon. I'll tell you this though, it was definitely one hell of an opening night."

"Oh god, your club." Courtney had almost forgotten. "Is this going to hurt it at all?"

Carly laughed and waved a hand dismissively. "Please. If every business was hurt from being the location of a mob war, there'd be no business in Port Charles. I'm not worried. If anything, this might even help business."

"You're so relaxed," Courtney said. "Aren't you scared Carly?"

Again Carly shrugged. "Of course I'm scared," she admitted. "But I'm so used to it now, that I don't know…" her voice trailed off as she thought. "It doesn't seem as scary to me as it used to. It's become a way of life. My way of life, because of Sonny."

"Okay, but why hasn't he tried to send you away?" Courtney asked slowly. "Why is it okay for you to be a part of this side of his life, but I can't be?"

Carly smiled sympathetically. "He loves you, he really does. Don't ever doubt that. And Sonny, well, he likes to protect the ones he loves however he sees fit, no matter how irrational he is. He's tried to get rid of me he really has; only I'm way more stubborn than he is. I'm here and he knows he can't do anything about it. You on the other hand, he doesn't know you that well yet, but he still loves you, and he thinks that you'll just do whatever he wants, and accept it as the best idea."

"It's a horrible idea though," Courtney protested.

"Yeah, it is," Carly agreed. "But sweetie, you have to remember that Sonny just found out about you and Jason, and not in the best way. He feels betrayed by not only you, but by Jason, and I can honestly tell you that he has no idea what to do about that."

"Meaning?"

"Meaning Jason has never lied to Sonny before. He's never done anything Sonny wouldn't approve of," Carly explained. "And now suddenly he's secretly seeing you and openly defying Sonny by telling him that he's not going to stop. Sonny has no idea how to react to that."

Courtney shook her head. "What about what Sonny said though? About Jason only asking me about school because they were planning to get me to leave?"

"Oh, Sonny may have asked Jason to talk to you about that but there's no way Jason did it _only_ because Sonny wanted him to," Carly said with a shake of her head. "Jason would never do that, not to you. I've seen the two of you together and I've seen him around you, Courtney, he cares about you. Don't ever doubt that."

She nodded and looked down at her hands. Carly was probably right, but she wasn't sure, and that killed her. If Carly was right, than Courtney had probably ruined everything by already doubting Jason and accusing him of betraying her. If Carly was wrong though, then she never wanted to see Sonny or Jason again.

* * *

"There you are!" Carly said with a bright smile as Courtney came into the living room from the patio. "Where were you?" 

Courtney returned the smile to Carly before going to pour a glass of water. "I needed to get out of the house so I took a nap on the beach." It had been over a week since she and Carly had arrived on the island and she had to admit that Carly had been right, it was an amazing place. She laughed at the look on Carly's face. "Don't worry, I took one of the guards with me."

"Well that's good, I'm glad you remembered, but I've got something else to tell you." Carly's voice was full of hesitation and Courtney sighed and set her glass down on the table.

"Sonny and Jason are here, right?" she asked carefully, looking at Carly.

"Not yet, but they're on their way," Carly answered.

"So then it's over and we're okay to leave the island?" Courtney asked, looking to Carly for confirmation.

"Sonny didn't say for sure, but he wouldn't leave Port Charles if that wasn't the case."

"Right." Courtney took a deep breath. "Well then I guess I should go pack," she said, turning to walk to the staircase. "With any luck I can be gone before they get here."

"Court, you can't just leave!" Carly protested.

"I can't? Carly, I don't want to see either of them and quite honestly, I don't think either of them wants to see me right now so I'll save everyone the trouble of having to deal with all of this."

"What are you talking about?" Carly asked.

"I haven't heard from Jason since the night at the police department," Courtney confessed. "And we both know Sonny hasn't picked up the phone to call me either so I don't think they can make this any clearer to me."

"No, Courtney, you've got it all wrong," Carly protested.

She shrugged sadly. "Maybe I do," she conceded. "But at this point, I don't care to find out either way. "I'm going to go pack my things." She walked upstairs before Carly could stop her.

Less than an hour later there was a slight knock on her bedroom door and she sighed. She was almost done packing and wanted to finish without any distractions from Carly. Before she could move there was another knock. And another. And a fourth before she crossed the carpet to the door. "Carly, don't even try to change my mind, there's nothing you can do!" She flung the door open, expecting to see Carly standing there. "Oh." She stepped back.

Jason stood in the doorway and looked at her. "Going somewhere?" he asked, leaning against the frame.

She nodded. "I told Sonny I would. And the fact that you're here now means its safe for me to leave, so really, there's no reason not to."

"Just like that?" Jason asked, folding his arms in front of him. "You're not even going to let me explain anything?"

"What's there to explain?" Courtney asked, lifting her eyes to meet his. "I think you've said enough already."

"What do you mean? Courtney, I haven't talked to you since you left town." He saw the look of anger pass over her face. "Oh." He sighed. "Courtney, let me explain."

"Explain what?" She shook her head. "No Jason, you don't have to explain anything. I've done a lot of thinking this week, and I've made up my mind."

"To leave? To give up without even fighting?"

"Fighting?" She laughed. "How can I fight for you when I'm not even sure I know who you are?" She saw a look of hurt flash in his eyes and for a moment felt badly.

"How can you say that?" he asked. "You don't really mean it. You can't actually think that you don't know me." He crossed the room in three long strides and stood in front of her.

"I don't know what I think anymore," she confessed softly. She didn't fight back when she felt Jason's hand on her back and she let him pull her into his arms.

"I'm sorry I didn't call you," Jason whispered into her hair. "I wanted to, I picked up the phone to call you probably ten times an hour, but I couldn't. Not until I knew you were safe."

"I was safe here," she said, but he shook his head to cut her off.

"I meant safe for good," he explained. "I haven't been honest with you Courtney, I never thought AJ was the one who sent you those flowers, in fact, I knew it wasn't him from the moment you told me about them."

"Who then?"

"His name is Jackson Parelli and he's the reason I had to keep going to Atlantic City," Jason went on. "He approached me and made veiled threats against you."

"And you decided not to tell me?" She pulled back to look at him.

"It was a bad decision, but you were already convinced it was AJ and I thought it was better you still thought that," Jason said. "You weren't scared and I didn't want to be the one to scare you. And I could still protect you while we went after Parelli and the less you knew the better."

"That's how it would always be, wouldn't it?" Courtney pulled away from him and walked several feet away. "You would always hide things from me and keep me in the dark because you think that would be better for me."

"Wouldn't it?" Jason challenged. "Courtney, would you really want to know every little detail about my job? Would that really make you feel better?"

"Did you kill Jackson Parelli?" she asked suddenly.

"What?"

"Well it's over now isn't it? You wouldn't be here if it wasn't over, so how did it end? Did you kill him?"

Jason shook his head slowly. "It's over and Parelli was dealt with, but no, I didn't kill him."

"But you have killed before, right?" she pressed on. "How many times?"

"Do you really want me to answer that?" he asked, staring at her.

"No." She shook her head from side to side as she brushed a few wayward tears from her cheeks. "No, I don't want you to answer it but I don't think I can handle not knowing either." She sighed and walked further away, turning her back on him. "Don't you understand?" she whispered. "I'm not leaving because I don't want to be with you, I'm leaving because I don't know what else to do."

"Courtney, we can figure this out. We can—"

"We can't," she argued. "I can't be with you Jason, because I don't want to know what you do when you're working, but I can't not know either. I can't sit and watch you leave for work every day and wonder what you're doing or if you're even going to come home."

"So that's it?"

"No, that's not it." She sighed. "I'm not going to come between you and Sonny, I don't want to be a… a distraction that gets you killed."

"Hey." He crossed the room again to get to her and cupped the side of her face. "I don't want you to ever think you're a distraction, because you're not." He smiled at her, brushing away her tears with his thumb. "Courtney, if anything, you're the exact opposite. Before I met you, there's nothing I wouldn't have done for Sonny. I didn't care how dangerous it was. If something happened to me, it wasn't going to matter. Now, it matters Courtney, I matter."

Courtney smiled in spite of herself. "That's not fair," she said with a shake of her head.

"I know, it wasn't fair at all, but it's true." He brought his other hand up to the back of her head and stroked her hair, threading his fingers through it. He smiled as she rested her head against his chest and slid her hands around him. They stayed like that for a long moment and Jason was surprised as she pulled away.

"I'm sorry," she said, shaking her head again. "I'm sorry, but I just can't do this. Maybe Sonny was right from the beginning and maybe we're just blinded by our emotions, but this isn't the kind of life I ever pictured myself having."

"And the life you had with AJ was?" He regretted the words as soon as they came out. "I didn't mean that Court, I just meant that—"

"No, you're right," she interrupted. "You're right, my life with AJ wasn't what I expected either, but maybe that's the whole point. Maybe Port Charles isn't the place for me."

"What about what you told me?" he asked. "About finally finding the stability you needed here?"

She looked up at him with sad eyes and shook her head slowly. "I don't think that's a particular conversation you ever want to bring up with me," she said.

"But just admit that you were happy," Jason pressed. "That you were happy with me."

"I was," she said sincerely. "But with everything that's happened with you and me and Sonny, I just don't think that it can work."

"So you're not even willing to try?" Jason shook his head as he paced. He wasn't used to this. In every other circumstance he would be in Courtney's place, but he had changed. She had changed him, and he no longer thought logically when it came to her. "See, I knew this would happen," he said as he began to pace. "This is why I never wanted to tell you about my job, why Sonny never wanted you to become a part of it. We knew would it would do to you."

"So you would rather I lived in some beautiful oblivion?" she shot back.

"If it meant we'd be together, maybe!"

"I'm sorry," she repeated. "I can't say that enough, but Jason, I won't change my mind."

"Courtney, I l-"

"I won't change my mind," she said firmly. "No matter what you say." She couldn't hear him say it, she would crumble right there if she did.

"Fine," he said heavily. He closed his eyes for a moment and then opened them again. "You know what you want out of life, and I respect that. I hope you find it." He turned and started to walk out of the room.

Courtney bit her lip as she watched him, not bothering to wipe away her tears anymore. "Jase," she called out as he reached the door. She waited until he turned to look at her again.

"Yeah?"

"What you tried to say. That night at the club or right here just now?" She swallowed hard. "I would have said it back." She felt her heart break as he looked at her and processed her words. He didn't say anything. He simply nodded at her and walked out of her room.

She took a deep breath and leaned against the wall. He was gone, and he probably wasn't coming back. The look in his eyes as he left told her everything she needed to know. She wasn't the only one with a broken heart over this.

Time passed and finally she left the bedroom and descended down the stairs, only to be met by Carly at the base.

"What happened?" Carly demanded. "I came home from lunch with Sonny and I ran into him and he didn't look happy at all. He barely even said hi to me, but shoved this at me and told me to give it to you." She held out a small gift-wrapped box.

Courtney took it gingerly. "We broke up," she said softly.

Carly sighed. "You did? I've been working on Sonny all week, and if you would have just given me another day or so, I'd have had him broke down and he would have been okay with you two." She waited expectantly. "Aren't you going to open it?" she asked impatiently.

Courtney slid her index finger under the edge of the silver paper and slid it down, breaking the seal. She dropped the paper to the ground and stared at what she held in her hands.

"Books," Carly said, confusion evident in her voice. "He seriously tried to win you back with books?" She took them from Courtney. "Not even books, two copies of the same book." She looked back at the blonde, who took the books back from her. "And yet you're reacting to this? I don't get it."

Courtney opened the cover to the first book and read the note that was tucked inside of it.

Courtney – I know you never found your copy of Little Women from when you moved, and I always meant to replace it from the first night we talked about it. It just took me a little longer than I thought it would. This one's your copy to read whenever you want, and if you lose it again, I'll just buy you another. She smiled as she read the words silently. The other one however, that's a little more special. It took some time, but I was able to find a first-edition printing and that's what you're holding in your hands Courtney. Now every time you read this, you can think of me, and if you read it as often as you said you did, I can guarantee I'll never be far from your thoughts. Happy reading. Love, Jason.

"Oh God," she whispered, pressing her hand to her mouth. She turned and looked at Carly who was still staring at her strangely. "Can it work?" she asked suddenly.

"Can what work? Courtney, are you okay? You look like you're about to—"

"Can it work? Can Jason and I work out even though neither of us know what the hell we're doing right now?"

Carly smiled then. "I never know what I'm doing and Sonny and I work just fine," she said.

It was also only answer Courtney needed. "Where did Jason go?" she asked.

"He's at the guest house next door." Carly looked at her watch. "Or at least, he will be if he hasn't already gotten on the jet back to Port Charles." Courtney was halfway through the living room before she even finished her sentence and Carly smiled as the front door slammed shut. "That's my girl," she said approvingly. "Don't let him get on that plane."

Courtney stood in front of the door to Sonny's other house and hesitated. She could still hear him inside, moving around, so that was good, at least he wasn't gone yet. She took some relief in that. She raised her hand but the door swung open before she could knock and her fist fell gently against his chest before she could stop it.

"What are you doing here?" He questioned, looking at her, his eyes roaming from head to toe. "I think you've said everything you needed to say."

She took a deep breath, hoping she could find the right words to say because she was pretty sure she only had one chance. It was now or never.


	10. Chapter Ten

**Author's note**: 74 days later. (Thanks Jenny, for that 70 day mark!) :hangs head: I'm sorry guys. I could give you some line like, "real life got in the way of updating" but I have no excuse. I've written, and re-written this chapter approximately 28 times. I've changed the course of the story about 20 of those times, and this is what I've come up with. So I was really trying to get this done by Friday because well, out of everyone asking me when I'm going to update this, Asia's been extremely pushy (and I love her for that) and well, she's out of town for the week and I promised I'd have it done by the time she got back. God help me if I don't. Hopefully the interest is still here for this story and that this update doesn't disappoint. Enjoy!

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**Love, Daisies, and Troubadours – Chapter 10**

Courtney stood in front of the door to Sonny's other house and hesitated. She could still hear him inside, moving around, so that was good, at least he wasn't gone yet. She took some relief in that. She raised her hand but the door swung open before she could knock and her fist fell gently against his chest before she could stop it.

"What are you doing here?" He questioned, looking at her, his eyes roaming from head to toe. "I think you've said everything you needed to say."

She took a deep breath, hoping she could find the right words to say because she was pretty sure she only had one chance. It was now or never.

"Not everything," she said finally. It wasn't much, but she hadn't really planned this out. "Jason I—"

"Made it perfectly clear to me already," he interrupted. He nodded at her hands and only then did she realize she was still clutching the books. "Good, you got them." He turned and walked back into the house.

"Yes," she answered. She followed him in, careful not to trip on the suitcases that stood packed by the door. "Thank you, I mean… thank you isn't enough, Jason, this was the sweetest thing that—"

"It was nothing." He cut her off again.

"Oh." As she watched him move around the living room she realized exactly what he had gone through not an hour before when he had shown up in her room. She pulled her lower lip into her mouth and kept her eyes trained on him as he obviously tried to keep himself busy. "Jason."

"What?" She winced at his tone.

"It wasn't nothing," she said softly. She watched as his shoulders straightened briefly and then slumped again. She walked over to him and placed her hand on his back. "I'm sorry," she whispered.

"You've already said that," he said, shrugging her hand off and moving away. "You said what you felt and I told you I respected that. I don't want you to regret saying it, not if you meant it."

"And that's it?" she asked, her voice rising slightly. "You're not even going to fight me on it?"

He turned and looked at her finally. "I did fight you on it Courtney. I'm the one that came to you; remember? You've got it in your head that it won't work, and you're determined to not even consider the fact that it could. You're the one willing to forget about the last few months just because of one stupid fight with Sonny and one lie that you won't even let me explain." He shrugged his shoulders and shook his head. "That's what you wanted Courtney, and that's what you'll get."

"Damn it Jason, that's _not_ what I want! I love you!"

Her words hung heavy in the space between them as they looked at each other. Courtney wanted the floor to open up and swallow her. She hadn't meant to say that, not at all. The words had been out of her mouth before she could stop them and now she couldn't take them back and there was no way he hadn't heard them and he wasn't saying anything back, he was just staring at her. Why was he just staring at her?

Her legs, just like her vocal chords, decided to work against her and she found herself moving towards him. Her entire body betrayed her then, as the books she still held dropped from her hands and she pressed herself against him, bringing his head down for a kiss.

Jason didn't resist her, but he didn't respond to her either. This wasn't going at all like she had planned, even though she really hadn't planned it in the first place. She tightened her grip on his shirt and continued to kiss him. She invaded his mouth without permission and was pleased when she finally felt his arms go around her.

She closed her eyes as he returned the kiss, and smiled against him, as he was the one to deepen it, although she happily obliged. His hands inched underneath her tank top to draw lazy circles against her skin as he began to walk her backwards out of the living room and towards the bedroom. His shirt fell from his body halfway across the room. Hers was cast aside a few steps later. She opened her mouth to speak but before she could he kissed her again, as he guided her back until they were in the bedroom. She couldn't help but smile as he kicked the door shut and this time she was the one to walk them backward until his legs hit the edge of the bed and they tumbled forward.

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Courtney's eyes slid open and landed on the clock next to the bed. She had been asleep for less than an hour but it felt longer to her. She rolled over and frowned at the fact that she was alone. Wrapping the bed sheet around her tightly she let the events of the afternoon play over and over in her head. Sure, she hadn't intended on telling Jason she loved him that exact way, but it had worked out for the best. They had made up, they had fallen into bed together, and while the circumstances had been a little too dramatic for her liking, being with Jason had been exactly how she had imagined it. It had been better than the trashy romance novels she used to sneak out of her mother's room when she was younger and it was definitely better than it had been with AJ. It had been everything she had expected and more.

Except that she woke up alone. That little detail had never been a part of her fantasies or expectations, but here she was. She listened intently searching for sounds that Jason was in the bathroom, or any of the other rooms, but the house was silent, save for the birds she could hear outside the window.

She got out of bed then, and went about methodically picking up her clothing, which was strewn everywhere, and putting it back on, piece by piece until she was fully clothed. The fact that his clothes weren't anywhere to be seen didn't go unnoticed by her. "Jason?" she called, walking towards the kitchen. Still no sounds came from within the house.

Courtney swallowed the lump that was quickly rising in her throat as she looked around the room. The books that she had dropped in the middle of the room were now sitting stacked on the table near the door. She shifted her glance to the floor and sure enough, the suitcases that had been there earlier were now gone.

She fell unceremoniously onto the couch as the harsh reality of what had really happened that afternoon hit her. She had said she loved him and that was it. Not another word had been spoken between them. She tried to remember if anything had been said after he carried her into the bedroom but she couldn't come up with a single word. There had been no breathless whispers, no proclamations of love, nothing.

He hadn't said _I love you._

He hadn't said goodbye.

She heard footsteps coming back up to the front door and she straightened up as it began to open. He was coming back. She knew he wouldn't leave just like that.

"Court?"

Courtney let out the breath she had been holding and sat back against the cushions. "He's gone?" she asked quietly as Carly came further into the room and sat down next to her.

Carly nodded. "What happened?" she asked gently. "I thought that with you coming over here, you two would fix things, that you'd end all of this nonsense and everything would be all right. But Jason just got on a plane and headed back home so what happened?"

Courtney laughed shakily. "You know more than I do, at least he said goodbye to you." She drew her knees up against her chest and blinked back the tears she didn't want to cry in front of Carly.

"What are you talking about? He didn't say goodbye?"

Courtney shook her head. "I don't know what happened," she confessed.

"Tell me what happened," Carly coaxed. Courtney nodded, knowing there was no way she could get out of it.

"I told him I loved him," she began. "And I guess that was the last thing I should have done."

"He left while you were sleeping?" Carly screeched a few minutes later. Courtney winced at her town and she apologized. "Sorry, I shouldn't have yelled, but what the hell was Jason thinking? Why would he do that?"

"I don't know," Courtney sighed. "I thought we were going to be okay when I came over here. I thought that if I explained to him that I didn't mean what I said before, that I was just scared, that he'd accept that and we'd move forward again. Carly, by the time I got here he had changed completely. He was cold, and he wouldn't listen to me and he tried to tell me that I was right and that it wouldn't work and I couldn't handle it and we weren't really fighting because Jason refused to show any emotion and I didn't know what else to do so I told him I loved him and yeah." She shrugged helplessly. "He left the second he could without me noticing."

"He's a coward," Carly spit out.

"No he's not."

"Yeah Courtney, he is. He's in love with you and that scares the shit out of him because he doesn't know how to deal with that so he ran. That's being a coward."

Courtney shook her head. "I can't blame him can I?" she asked. "It's not his fault he doesn't know how to react to all of this. It's my fault for throwing everything possible at him today, I should have known better than to do that. Of course he ran, what else was he going to do?"

Carly stared. "I can't believe you're blaming yourself," she said incredulously. "Courtney, in no way is this your fault. You didn't do anything wrong, you're not the one who left."

"I left first," she pointed out. "I walked out of the police station. I told him it was over earlier today."

Carly shook her head. "You were angry and you were scared," she said dismissively. "But you came to your senses and now he's the one running scared." She stood up. "Come on, let's go."

"Go?" Courtney echoed as Carly pulled her up by the arm.

"Yes, we're going back to Port Charles."

"Carly, no." She tried to protest but Carly cut her off.

"Are you really going to give up on Jason just like that? After all of this, you can really just throw in the towel and go on with your life?" She sighed when Courtney didn't answer. "Come on Court." Her voice softened a little. "Okay fine, don't think about Jason right now," she relented. "But at least come back with us, work things out with Sonny. He feels badly Courtney, he wants to talk to you."

"He'll be happy to hear about this, I'm sure."

Carly laughed at that. "Oh no he won't. Believe me, he's going to be pissed that Jason is treating you this way."

"Well I don't want that either," Courtney protested. "I don't want the two of them to fight. Not over me."

"Only one way to solve that then," Carly said with a shrug. "Come on, we've got some packing to finish before we go."

Courtney allowed herself to be pulled out of the house and across the lawn to the other house. She didn't necessarily want to go back to Port Charles, not now especially, but she had nowhere else to go really, and while she knew it wasn't going to be fun, she knew she couldn't just leave things with Sonny the way there were.

As for things with Jason, well, she wasn't sure what was going to happen there. She half-listened as Carly kept muttering about kicking Jason's ass, but she stayed silent throughout the whole tirade.

If things were meant to be, they'd be able to work through this and pick up where they left off, but if not, then she'd have to accept that and figure out where to go from there.

As of right now though, she wasn't going to get her hopes up. Things seemed pretty clear to her. Too bad though, as Carly was rapidly forming a plan all on her own.

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**A.N/2**: So don't hate me _too much_ for this chapter; it's just how it ended up. Oh, and it's now actually 78 days later… and 32 rewrites, for those of you counting. (It's Sunday, so I missed my Asia deadline, but she has gracefully accepted my apology and won't be demanding my head on a platter or anything like that. Not yet anyways.) But now I actually know where it's going to go from here, and I really don't think it'll be another 70 days before I update. LOL, leave your feedback, but keep the hate to a dull roar! 


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